Crossed Paths Book 3: The Final Battle
by jon3s115
Summary: Wolf has started his invasion. The Earth forces may have Star Fox; but is it enough? Will Earth win? Or will Wolf get his revenge? Final Chapter, 12, is now up! Find out if Kevin and Earth can stop Wolf, or be killed in the process...
1. Chapter 1: The Plan

_Alright, and we are back from a short break. Are you ready for the ending of the series? I know I am. I can't wait to tell you all about the special add-on I'm doing after this book; I know you guys are gonna like it. I'm gonna stop talking and start writing now, so anyway… On with the book!_

**Chapter 1: The Plan **

Obama just looked at me with terror on his face. I told him that Wolf would arrive in a matter of minutes; this scared me just as much as him. Knowing about Wolf's technology, I could instantly tell that we would have difficulty winning this. Earth was not advanced in weaponry for offense or defense, the most we had were nukes.

Obama and I stayed silent for a few moments. I broke the silence, "Sir, I suggest you get to a bunker immediately. Are the military forces spread out across America?" I asked him.

Obama shook his head as if to get out of the trance he was in, "Yes, the entire military, navy, marines, army, seals, air force, etc. have been spread evenly across America. We have also stopped fighting the other countries; turns out they would rather work together than die for no reason."

I sighed with relief, "Thank God. I had serious doubts about making peace."

Obama looked at me, "We aren't at peace; we just agreed to work together in order to save our species."

I was little disappointed to hear this, but was still relieved, "That's good enough."

"How long is it till your team arrives?" Obama asked.

I shook my head slowly, "I'm not sure; I don't even know why they went to Corneria."

Obama pointed to my wrist communicator, "Can you contact them?"

I looked down at the communicator, "Maybe; I've tried calling from long distances on this."

I scrolled through the list of contacts and tapped on Fox's. A small blue haze appeared over my wrist, in it was small text saying 'contacting Fox McCloud'. After a few seconds passed, he answered. The connection was choppy, but it worked.

"Fox, where are you? Wolf is going to arrive any second now." I said.

Fox's image kept frizzing up, "We're…n our way…eeded to get…ox. Have you warne…vilians?"

I was just barely able to make out what he had said to me, "Um… yeah, I was able to warn everyone."

Just then, a T.V, that was on, nearby started to beep. It played two small beeps, then a long one. I looked over at it; it showed the emergency broadcast systems logo on it. Above the logo was the words 'emergency'.

"We have just received word that the invasion, mentioned yesterday by Star Fox pilot Kevin Michelson, has begun ahead of schedule. Please make your way to the nearest bunker in a safe and calm manner. We are unsure of the estimated time of arrival of this fleet, but we do know that everyone must get to safety." A voice on the T.V said.

I lowered my head, "I can't believe I let this happen." I said quietly.

Obama looked over at me, "What was that?" he asked.

I quickly looked back up, "Nothing, I was just saying that you should get to safety immediately. I have to get back to my ship."

Obama nodded his head, "Okay." He said. "When your team arrives, head towards Area 51 in Nevada. The Generals of the military have met there and will show your team our plan of attack."

I nodded, "Yes sir."

With that, I walked out of the room and back towards the front of the building. As I entered the main room, I crowd of men wearing black passed by me. I assumed they were here to escort the President. I walked out of the building and started to run towards my Arwing. I entered and opened a communications line with the rest of the team.

"Fox here" a voice said as pictures of the team appeared on my HUD.

"How far out are you guys?" I asked.

"We are about to arri…" Fox said as he stopped talking, "Never mind, we just exited warp."

I smiled, "Great, I'm sending you the coordinates to a base we are supposed to meet at. It's towards the right middle of the large triangle like land mass: North America. Oh, and I'm also sending you data on Earth; locations, land mass names, etc."

Falco looked confused, "These coordinates are showing that we need to go to a place named Area 51. I thought we were going to a base."

I laughed, "We are, the base is just called Area 51 to give it some form of secrecy."

Falco slouched, "Oh"

Fox spoke up, "Why are we heading there?"

"Ah, that is because my people have come up with a plan of attack. I don't know how it goes, so just be ready for the information they will give you. It's crucial that we follow what they say." I said.

"Why's that?" Krystal asked.

I looked at her picture, "Because we need their trust; I may be a human, but I don't think they trust us 100%."

"Alright, we'll see you there." Fox said.

I cut the transmission and started the engines. Once they were at full power, I hovered into the air and blasted off into the sky. I climbed to good altitude far above commercial airline paths and pushed the thrusters to full power. I almost instantly accelerated to speeds five times the speed of sound. Once I reached the appropriate speed, I banked hard to the left about 180 degrees and maintained a straight course. I was on my way to Nevada.

I looked down at the screen in front of me and typed a few things. I adjusted the G-Diffusers because I was in slightly different gravity than on the surface, I also calculated the time it takes for a fleet to warp. I entered the amount of ships and what class they were and I input their starting and ending locations. Once I entered the info the computer went to work on calculating it.

"ETA for Earth is approximately twenty minutes." The computer said.

I spoke to myself, "Good, that gives us time to set up whatever America has planned."

I continued on my current course until I was mere miles away from the base. When I was in range, I decelerated quickly to about 150 mph and pushed down to lower altitudes. Once I broke through the clouds, the HUD projected an image in my line of sight. The image showed a small highlighted building off in the distance. It was Area 51. I passed over the mountains; this revealed a much bigger area that was slightly populated with buildings and open areas.

As I neared the large area, two jets seemed to appear out of nowhere. They both leveled up next to me. I looked at the pilots, who in turn looked back at me. I smiled and waved at them; they waved back as well.

I shrugged hoping to see if they would understand what I meant. I needed to know what building I was going to. They just looked at me.

Frustrated, I spoke to the computer, "Computer, find the frequency that the fighter jet pilots are using." I said.

"Confirmed, frequency found. Patching through now." The computer said.

I looked at the pilot towards my left, "Hi there, you mind telling me where I need to go?"

The pilot replied, "Um… I don't think you're supposed to be here kid."

I chuckled, "I don't think they told you, but, I'm supposed to be here. As you can see, I am piloting a very advanced machine that would most likely eliminate yours in a second."

The pilot continued to look at me, "What does that mean?"

"How can I contact the generals? They're waiting for me and my team." I said.

The second pilot spoke, "Team? There's more?"

"Of course; I probably shouldn't tell you, but, they aren't humans. I am, but the other aren't." I said.

Suddenly a gruff voice spoke, "Lieutenant John, Lieutenant Jones, what the hell are you two doing?"

"General Reyes, we were sent to intercept this unknown craft." The first pilot replied.

I spoke up, "Yes sir, it appears they have no idea why I am here."

"That is none of their concern. Lieutenant John and Jones, break off immediately." General Reyes demanded.

"Yes sir." The two said in sync.

The General then spoke to me, "Mr. Michelson, land near hangar B. We'll be waiting there."

"Yes sir." I said with respect.

I looked for the small hangar that the general had directed me to find. I found it and flew towards it at low speeds. Once I neared it, I switched into hover and landed right next to the building. Before I stepped out, I felt that it would be a good idea to hide my identity, so I activated my helmet before I exited.

I jumped out of the Arwing and looked towards the building. The large doors slowly slid open, revealing a large number of men dressed in uniforms. They walked out and formed two parallel lines that led towards me. At the other end were several men in uniforms. I slowly started to walk down the middle of the two lines. The men all stared at me as I walked down; I just stared back at a few of them.

Once I reached the men, one outstretched his arm. I grabbed it and shook his hand firmly.

"It is an honor to meet you Mr. Michelson. I am General Johnson." Johnson said.

"My name is General Reyes, we've meet before." Reyes said as he outstretched his hand.

"Ah yes, when I made first contact with my teams leader." I replied.

Another man stepped up, "My name is Commander Brooks."

I shook hands with the rest of the generals and the commander.

I nodded, "It's a pleasure to meet you all." The mask altered my voice slightly, further concealing my identity.

Commander Brooks spoke up, "It's a good thing you're wearing that mask. It would be pretty difficult keeping your identity from all of these men."

"You mean they can't see my face?" I asked.

"Precisely" Brooks replied.

I shook my head slowly, "This military has some weird forms of secrecy."

"It's the only way you can be safe." Johnson replied.

I sighed, "I don't live here on Earth. And if an assassin even tried to shoot me, it wouldn't work. I have a shield in place over my armor."

General Reyes gave me a stern look. I shrugged as if to say 'what?'.

He spoke, "I think we should wait for your team."

I turned around and saw four blue lights off in the distance. I activated my locator beacon so that they could find the correct building. A minute passed and the team had landed and walked over to us. Seeing that the team wasn't concealed, I deactivated my helmet.

As the team walked down the line, the men gasped.

"Are they…animals?" One asked.

"Holy shit… that's not possible." Another said.

"That thing is a walking fox." Another said aloud.

I spoke up, "That's enough; they're from the alternate reality from us. The system they live in is only a few billion light years away."

The men looked at me and gasped again.

"You're a kid!" one exclaimed.

General Reyes quickly spoke up, "Let's head inside."

The eight of us then walked into the large hangar and through a door on the side. The door led us into a short hallway; on the other end was another door that had text reading 'Authorized Personnel'. We reached the door and entered a stairwell. It was huge. We started to walk down the large well all the way to the bottom. Once we reached the bottom floor, General Reyes spoke.

"What you all will see does NOT leave this complex. Do I make myself clear?" He said with command in his voice.

We all nodded. Reyes opened the door; on the other side was an enormous room that was several stories high. On the sides were several exposed offices with room sized windows. In the middle of the massive room was a large open area. It was only taken up by equipment on the bottom floor.

I walked over to the edge and looked down the several stories. On the bottom were people walking to and fro doing their business. I looked up and saw the office rooms on the side walls.

"Follow us, please." Brooks said.

The five of us followed the generals and commander across a long catwalk that extended from one side of the room to the other. They led us into one of the offices and had all of us sit down at a large table.

Fox looked over at me, "Who are these men?"

"They are the Generals of the military." I whispered, "They're going to show us their plan of taking out Wolf."

The three men then took a seat across from us.

Reyes was the first to speak, "If intel serves me right, you five are the Star Fox team?"

Fox replied, "Yes, that is correct."

"Incredible" Commander Brooks mused, "I can't believe that we even made contact. I'm sure the chances of finding each other were slim to none."

Slippy spoke, "That's true. We have actually been studying Earth for a while. We never made contact because we didn't know if life existed here."

"Very interesting" General Johnson said, "We should get down to business."

Fox agreed with Johnson, "Yes, we need to learn of this plan now. Wolf is already on his way here."

Reyes then pulled out a file from a suitcase that was handed to him earlier. He opened it and pulled out a file that had the words 'Top Secret' writing on it. He put the file on the table and slid it over to Fox. Fox opened it and examined the contents carefully.

"See, we have devised a plan that could potentially work against this 'Wolf'." Reyes explained, "we have decided that you all should break off and assist the forces around the world. We didn't choose who is going where; we'll let you decide on that."

We nodded. I think I had a good idea on where the team should go.

"I have an idea. Falco should go and assist Europe; his flying skills can go really well with them. I'll stay here and assist America since I know it well. Fox can go and assist Africa; he has a good way of explaining things, so he can tell the military there what's happening exactly. Slippy can assist in China and Russia. And Krystal can assist in Australia." I explained to the team.

Brooks nodded, "Sounds good to me."

Falco spoke up, "Hold up, am I flying with some rookies or skilled fliers that know what they're doing?"

Reyes replied, "Europe has been of great help during the recent war. I can assure you that they have excellent pilots."

"What about me?" asked Krystal, "What are the people like in this 'Australia'?"

Reyes was about to speak, but I cut him off, "You'll find out when you get there. The thought patterns should be different and should be able to tell you a lot about them."

Reyes finally had the chance to speak, "Thought patterns?" he asked.

Krystal replied, "Yes, my race consisted of beings that could control the mental ability of Telepathy."

The generals and Commander nodded in sync.

"What should I know about China and Russia?" Slippy asked.

Brooks replied this time, "Simple, they are strict but powerful. You may have the most difficult time gaining their trust."

Slippy sighed, "I always get the hard parts in missions."

The room was filled with a slight chuckle. Everyone obviously got a kick out of what Slippy said. But to Slippy, he didn't get it.

"Was it something I said?" He asked.

"So it's settled, you all have your locations?" Reyes asked.

Everyone nodded.

"Good" Johnson said. He reached over to a small box on the table and pressed a button on it, "Dominic, get China, Russia, Australia, Europe, and Africa. Our allies need a rendezvous point."

A male voice replied, "Yes sir"

Reyes gestured towards the door, "Please wait outside until Dominic gives you the location of you rendezvous points."

The five of us then got up and left the room. Outside of it were several chairs. We sat there and waited for the locations we were supposed to meet at. The Generals and Commander followed after us when we exited.

"Kevin, please come here." Reyes said.

I got up and walked over to the three leaders. They were looking at me as I walked over to them.

Reyes spoke in a whisper, "We need to know something." He asked.

"What's that?" I asked in a whisper as well.

"Can we trust these people? I get that they let you into their squad, but are they on our side?" Reyes asked.

"Of course; haven't you played Star Fox?" I asked.

Brooks' and Johnson's eyes grew wide.

"No…" Johnson said.

I looked at him and smiled, "Yes, they are the exact same as the game. It's weird, but it's true."

"I remember when the first came out on the Super Nintendo." Johnson said.

I smiled, "Yes, well, they actually hate Wolf and his team more than anything. His team is named Star Wolf and it consist of three pilots…well… two now." I explained.

"Two?" Reyes asked.

"Yes, right before Wolf escaped with the remnants of his army. I entered his flagship hoping he would be there. Instead I found his cruelest member waiting for me. He tried to kill me, but I emerged victorious and killed him instead." I said.

"Ah, well, since you are assisting the Americas in this battle. You will be stationed here and in South America. They have a top secret base there as well." Johnson explained.

"Sounds good to me" I replied.

Just then Fox, Krystal, and Falco walked by holding papers with a list of coordinates on them. They had already gotten their rendezvous points and were headed out to meet their new allies.

"Good luck guys." I said as they walked passed me and the leaders.

I had a better feeling about this whole situation now. They separated our skill across the world in order to balance the chances of winning. This gave me a good feeling about our chances.

"Kevin, please follow us to your quarters. It is located in another building." Reyes said.

I followed the three men out of the hangar and across a large airstrip. On the other side was a more hospitable looking building. We reached the doors and they slid open. Once inside, several men shot up from their seats and saluted us. The Generals and Commander dismissed them. We continued our journey into the building and through several doors. We soon reached the living quarters for those that had over night shifts. I was directed to a large room.

"Thank you very much." I said as I entered the room.

I looked down at my wrist communicator. It had a countdown on it. It resembled the amount of time we had before Wolf is expected to exit warp and arrive. The timer said 'five minutes and counting'.

I turned around and exited my room. The Generals and Commander were walking away; I stopped them by yelling.

"Hey" I yelled.

They turned around and looked at me, "What's wrong?"

"Are the forces ready for an attack at any given notice?" I asked.

Reyes replied with confusion, "Yes, why?"

I lifted my wrist and showed them the hologram of the countdown. It now read 'four minutes'.

Their faces went pale white.

_Alright… let book 3 BEGIN! I have a big story line planned for this… as a matter of fact I need your help. _

_Because of the fact that I split the team into individuals… I need to know if you, the readers, are okay with the book going to into a narrative form. It is currently a first person. I am asking you this because I want to know if you like it. It'll make for a better read (better cliff hangers, better description, less mistakes, longer chapters, etc.) and it will be easier on me for writing. PLEASE sound off in the reviews or send me a message. _

_Until next time…_


	2. Chapter 2: America Defense

_Okay guys… I can't decide over first person or narrative, so, I will write this chapter in narrative. If you guys don't like it or prefer the first person, then I will rewrite the chapter into first person. I really hope you like the perspective change; it will actually open the world up more. I'll get better descriptions, better transitions, more transitions, great dialogue, longer chapters, more in-depth chapters, and… wait for it… CLIFFHANGERS! This book will be full of them ;) (If we stay in the narrative perspective). _

_Update March 19, 2013: Read bottom authors note for new information. _

_On with the story…_

**Chapter 2: America's Defense **

I lifted my wrist to show the generals and the commander the holographic timer. It read four minutes. Their faces went pale white, as did those who were around and able to see the timer. I was also scared. I was being thrown back into battle without any rest; same as the military forces around the world.

General Reyes spoke, "Oh God; please tell me that this isn't how much time we have left."

My heart was racing, "Yes" I said in a low tone.

The three leaders nodded their heads slowly. Reyes looked down and started to think of what to do. No one knew where Wolf would attack first or how he would attack; offensive or defensive. I even started to think of what to do. The first thing that popped up in my mind was to contact the team and warn them about the immanent attack. I quickly raised my wrist and contacted the team.

"Guys, you better hurry to your destinations. Wolf is about to exit warp." I quickly said.

Fox was the first to respond, "I've already made contact with the Africans. They have given me control of the air force and some ground units to control."

"Krystal, Slippy, Falco? What about you three?" I asked.

Krystal replied, "Australia has given me control over air. They seem to trust us after what we have told them about Lylat."

Falco spoke next, "I just arrived at Europe. I'm about to meet with the leaders."

Slippy was the least lucky of the five, "Well, I was given very little control over the Chinese forces, but the Russians granted me air superiority."

"Great" I said before I paused for a second, "good luck everyone." I cut the transmission.

Reyes quickly shouted, "Kevin, follow us to the war room. We have every single platoon and squad waiting on comms waiting for orders."

I nodded. The four of us then started to run down the hall and into the main room we had arrived barged through the front door and ran towards a nearby building with satellite dishes set up all around it. The building was several stories high and was heavily guarded by ten watchtowers. Each tower had a man with a heavy machine gun at the ready. Besides from the dishes, there were also large automated turrets set up. Each had a large white top and a mini gun extending from the side. These were computer controlled turrets that had supreme accuracy. One could easily shoot down several missiles in a matter of seconds.

As we ran towards the building, Reyes yelled out, "When we get inside, we'll take you to the war room; in there you will be able to command the ground and air troops."

I yelled back, "Thank you for trusting me. I understand if any of you don't like this."

Brooks replied loudly, "Don't mention it; we're the ones that decided this, that and you're the only one who knows what this guy is capable of."

We burst through the door. Inside there was a door that read 'Authorized Personnel Only'. The four ran through the door and headed for an elevator that was on the other end of the small room. The elevator opened as we neared it. When we entered, Johnson entered a code. The elevator started to move downwards.

Inside the war room was a man by the name of George Cruz. He was the main man in charge of orders up until today; I was now in charge of the entire armed forces, which was basically everyone at the time.

The elevator door slid open. Reyes, Johnson, Brooks and I ran out and joined Cruz on the second floor catwalk. Cruz was less than happy to see us.

The war room was large. It had a circular shape to it with a catwalk wrapping around the circumference of the room and the bottom floor consisting of rows and rows of stations with a computer at each one. Towards the front of the room was a large screen that fit perfectly from top to bottom and extended outwards about 100 feet. On the screen were different little displays. There were a large amount of pictures of men and woman with info by them. They were the leaders of the platoons and squads.

"Where have you been? These men and woman have been waiting for orders." Cruz said hurtfully.

I spoke up, "Sir, with all due respect, shut the hell up. We're here and we're ready to fight this freak. Would you like me to command or give you an excuse as to why we were a little late?"

Cruz seemed shocked at my statement, "Had you been here earlier, we would have already mobilized the troops."

Cruz then looked forward towards the screen, "Lieutenant Woods"

The picture of a man then enlarged and was placed in front of the other pictures. Woods was a Lieutenant in the 5141st air force squad. He was of American decent and was holder of all command of air forces. He would occasionally share plans with the ground commander, Cruz, whenever air support is needed.

"Yes sir" Woods replied.

"I am handing all command to Kevin Michelson. He has all control from here on out. Acknowledged?" Cruz stated.

Woods replied, "Affirmative"

I stepped forward next to Cruz, "Alright, it looks as though I have been given command to every single one of you. I will make the orders, and you all will follow them. I know what Wolf is capable of, so listen to me and we'll do okay." I bellowed. "Unfortunately, I cannot promise all of you coming home. This enemy is strong and may even beat us." My tone soon grew with my words, "BUT, we will not give up, we will NOT LOOSEN our determination, and we will not lose our planet to a PSYCHO BIPEDAL ANIMAL! DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?"

Every man and woman replied in sync, "Sir Yes sir."

"That's what I want to hear" I said, "All air force squad leaders, speak up so I know what I'm dealing with."

A large amount of pictures of men and woman pictures were pulled up in front of the other pictures. There was a jumbled sound of voices clashing together.

I looked at the pictures and picked out a few names, "Lieutenant Marie, squad name and location."

Marie replied, "Lieutenant Marie, commanding officer of the War Machine squad. We have been paired with First Sergeant Holt, Lieutenant Carter, and Lieutenant Woods."

I ordered for the three other pilots to speak, "First Sergeant Holt, Lieutenant Carter, Lieutenant Woods, is this true?"

Holt spoke first, "Yes sir, we have been assigned to merge our squads and fly over most of the south; my squad being in Alabama, Carter's in Mississippi, Maries in Tennessee and Woods in Missouri."

"I will accompany you all for the first tier of attacks." I said, "The four of you are dismissed; ready up and launch immediately, we're about to see some crazy action."

The three squad leaders replied, "Sir Yes sir"

All three leaders ended the communication. I was left with the remaining squads.

"Every other squadron I want to handle their designated areas. I will assist if needed. That means if you are getting your asses kicked, then I will come and show you how to fight." I bellowed.

All the squad leaders replied, "Sir Yes Sir" They ended the communication line.

I was left with a large amount of pictures and names of men and women. Each of them was leader of a squad.

"Holy shit, that's a lot of ground squads." I said jokingly.

Cruz replied with a chuckle. He didn't trust Kevin as much as Reyes, Brooks, and Johnson, but he had no choice because he was outvoted.

"Okay, all ground squads on the west coast and inland as far as…" I started to think, "Arizona, Utah, Idaho, and Montana. Prepare for battle immediately. I'm not sure if Wolf's forces will attack there first. Since his army has been cut down a bit, he will have a difficult time adjusting where his army should go." I said.

There was a jumbled noise of the words 'Sir Yes Sir'.

"Dismissed" I ordered.

The grip of squad leaders then ended the communications line.

"All squads in the middle states; do the same as I have told the west coast squads, but, I want you to be ready for first contact. I have a hunch that Wolf will attack the middle then spread towards the East and West Coasts." I stated.

"Sir Yes Sir" The leaders said. They cut the transmission. I was now left with the last set of squads.

"East coast squads; prepare for battle as well." I looked down at my timer and was frightened at the sight, "Oh shit!" I yelled.

The timer now said less than a minute. I was running far later than expected, even though I did what I thought would work.

"Mobilize troops immediately and be ready for one hell of a fight." I said.

I then stormed out of the room and into the elevator. Before the door closed, I yelled 'ONE MINUTE'. The elevator quickly rose upwards.

"Kevin, we'll keep you in contact of HQ for updates on the forces." Reyes said over the communicator.

I smiled, "Good, makes commanding a whole lot easier."

Outside in front of the hangar that I had meet the Generals and Commander, my Arwing was being guarded by several guards. It had a shield in place, so it was worthless for them to guard it. Even with that, they insisted that they guard for security reasons.

Once the elevator opened, I darted out and into the main room of the building. I barged through the front doors and headed across the airstrip towards my Arwing. I typed a code on my wrist communicator to start up the Arwing.

The Arwing's engine started, the canopy was lifted, and the systems were set. Once I reached the Arwing, I jumped in and took off into the sky.

"Computer; set course for Alabama." I commanded.

"Affirmative" the computer replied.

The computer searched the database and found the location of Alabama. Once the coordinates were given to me, I punched the throttle to max and sped towards the state. I was going so fast that I was nearly going half the speed of light. In a manner of seconds, I was over the state of Alabama.

"Any military personnel; please respond. This is Kevin Michelson of the Star Fox team." I said as I set the radio to all frequencies.

A voice came back to me, "Acknowledged, glad to see you've arrived sir."

"Please identify." I commanded.

"This is Lieutenant Woods of the 5141st squad. You gave me and several other squads the order to be ready." Woods stated.

"Oh, glad to see that you listened," I said, "heading to your location now."

I looked at my radar and saw a large amount of blips. The computer said that they were approximately five miles away.

The squadron was in the air waiting for contact from Kevin. The three squad leaders were in the front; they piloted highly modified F-22 Raptors. Each with new technology that was secret until Star Fox made contact with Earth. Every other pilot was piloting a choice of their craft with modifications as well. The large squad consisted of over three hundred jets; all with highly skilled pilots.

"You think he can lead us to victory?" a pilot in Woods squad asked.

Woods replied, "I'm not sure. But if we have any chance of winning against this enemy, it's with this guy."

Marie spoke in a puzzled tone, "He sounded a bit young over the radio, didn't he?"

Holt agreed, "Yeah, he sounded like a teenager."

I suddenly revealed that i was listening, "You're all right, and I'm sixteen. It's been a year since Star Fox made contact with me."

Carter laughed, "Wow; that was perfect timing."

I suddenly zoomed passed the fighters. This must have startled them.

"Oh shit, what was that?" Carter asked with fear in his voice.

Marie gasped, "Is it the enemy army?"

Woods tried to calm them down, "Don't worry; if it comes back around engage it immediately."

I was smiling. I knew that with their alert focus, they would have less difficulty winning. Pleased with what I heard from the enormous squad, I decided to reveal myself. I slowly emerged from under the fighters and pulled next to Marie's F-22.

"Hi there." I said cheerfully.

Woods laughed, "Damn, you gave us a scare."

I just chuckled, "Only way I know that you guys are paying attention."

_Wolf's Point of_ _View_

I ordered the scientist to set a course for Earth. They advised to beam about a hundred miles from atmosphere, I agreed. Out in front of me was a large wormhole that seemed to grow bigger and bigger. Soon, we passed through it harmlessly and arrived to the Corneria look-a-like, Earth.

Panther and I were in the main flagship. We were both on the bridge looking over the large blue planet. We were disgusted by the sight and were happy that we would be able to do harm to it.

"The time has come." I said to himself. "Launch all ships. Have them pick their own spots to destroy."

Panther spoke, "Believe me when I say I'm with you on this whole plan, but, why exactly are we launching a full scale attack on this planet?" he asked.

I sneered, "This is the one thing that'll teach this human not to mess with me. Since these humans are non-advanced, it's a perfect punishment for even insulting me."

Panther chuckled, "Temper temper"

I lowered my head and then faced towards Panther, "Don't even think of it. I've already lost one member to this freak show; I'm not going to let him go just by killing him."

Panther just sighed and looked back out towards the planet, "It is a nice planet" he said quietly, "too bad we'll have to destroy it."

After mere minutes, my attack and defense force had been launched. I was sure that Kevin and Star Fox had not planned this at all. I hoped that they planned for a coordinated attack against Earth, not a blind attack.

"I will have my revenge on this thing!" I said before I left the bridge.

_Kevin's Point of View_

I was commanding the large squad. The three joining squads had dispersed to their states that they were assigned to. Only Woods and his squad of one hundred jets stayed with me over Alabama.

As the ships neared Earth, my radar detected them. This caught me by surprise even though I was expecting them.

"Warning, Warning, unknown ships approaching." The computer said.

I let out a deep breath, "Get ready guys. They're getting close."

I was on the lookout for any suspicious activity around me.

Woods seemed to feel uneasy and was getting worried, "I have a bad feeling right now."

Suddenly, a barrage of laser came raining from the enemy squad of fighters. A mixture of screams and yells were heard from the pilots that were either destroyed or hit. Almost half of the squad was killed, some were hit, and others were unscathed.

I looked up and saw the fighters as they zoomed passed the squad down towards the ground.

"SPLIT UP AND ENGAGE NOW!" I yelled.

Immediately, the squad dispersed and went after what they could take. I was able to chase a group of fighters that had clumped together to take out one of the pilots.

"Fuck off you little pricks!" I yelled as I fired several lasers at the ships.

The lasers zoomed through the air and hit each fighter directly. All three fighters went down in fire and ended in a fiery explosion.

A pilot yelled, "These things are impossible to hit!"

Several more pilots spoke up, "Fox Two, Fox Two."

"Missile away" More pilots said.

Woods was having trouble as well, "Fox Two, missile away."

The missile hit the enemy ship, but the fighter just spun out of control and regained control. The shield was protecting it from the jet's missiles.

"What?!" Woods yelled, "They can't be hit!"

I looked at my computer; it read that the enemy shield was no longer in place. This gave me some motivation. The other pilots just needed to hit a ship twice in order to kill them.

"No, the shield on that one isn't there anymore. Hit it again!" I yelled.

As I gave the command, an enemy ship trailed behind me and started to shoot. The enemy pilot was very skilled and had incredible aim. I barrel rolled towards the left and the right, but was unable to shake the enemy. I attempted doing a loop, but was caught in the enemy's laser fire before I could perform the stunt. I was hit several times and lost all of my shields. Due to my training, the first action I needed to take was to retreat immediately, but, I wasn't with the rest of the team, I was with normal jets that have no way of winning without me. I had no choice to stay and fight.

"Damn it, I lost my shields." I yelled.

Woods replied, "Keep it together. We can win this!"

Suddenly, several cries of pain and agony were heard over the radio. Many of the jets were taken out at once.

"Oh shit, we just lost five units!" Woods yelled after the pilots screamed. "Only 39 troops rema…" Woods stopped, "28… troops remain."

I was at a loss for what to do. I wasn't a leader and had no experience commanding an entire army. The jets couldn't do much in terms of offense or defense. I decided to follow my gut and just ordered the squad to continue engaging.

"Don't stop, keep going. They'll give in eventually!" I yelled.

_Reyes' Point of View_

The Generals and I were listening in on every squad's communications line. We were keeping a sharp ear out for Kevin's squad line, but we were more worried about the other squads in the air and on the ground.

"They're invincible!" Several pilots kept yelling.

"Screaming Indian Squad down to only five percent; they're tearing us apart!" A pilot yelled.

"8192nd squad here; we lost half of our pilots! We need backup!" yelled a squad leader.

At this, I became ultimately scared, "What! That's our best squad out there!" I yelled.

Cruz lowered his head, "We never stood a chance." He said.

Brooks looked back at the front monitor and looked for Kevin's name and status. It showed that he was still alive and was still fighting. "Kevin, what's the status on your squad?" Brooks asked.

Kevin yelled back, "We've lost almost all of our ships. I only count 19 jets left."

"Damn it!" yelled Kevin, "These things don't quit!"

Woods seemed scared and shaky, "Kevin, wha…what are your orders?"

Given his options, I assumed he had little choice but to retreat. I'm sure he didn't like the idea at all, but he had to in order to survive.

"All remaining jets retreat immediately, I repeat, all aircraft retreat immediately." Kevin said quickly as he entered every comms channel.

I sighed in relief to hear that they were done and coming back. At least we would still have some forces remaining after this slaughter.

Only a few pilots answered back. Some couldn't even finish their sentences. This showed exactly how much Wolf was winning.

"Yes sir, retreatin…ARRGGHH!" A pilot yelled.

"Fuck this, I'm ejecting!" Another yelled.

A pilot in his squad yelled at him, "Are you stupid? Don't eject!"

Regardless, the pilot ejected and was almost instantly killed by stray lasers. Yells from the squad were heard after laser fire was heard. It was assumed to the remaining of squad that ejecting would be worse.

"My God! What the hell were we thinking?" Woods yelled.

"Sir; we're right behind you… lead the way away from here." A squad pilot by the call sign of Blaze yelled.

Marie suddenly came over the comms line, "Kevin, my squad is in full retreat, but we're having trouble getting away from these things."

_Kevin's Point of_ _V__iew_

I looked down and closed my eyes. I was disgusted at how horribly the battle was going. I didn't want to answer, for fear of causing more lives to be lost.

"Sir?" Marie yelled.

Woods decided to step in, "Marie, head into cloud cover or find something that could potentially help you escape, like buildings."

Marie replied, "Okay, you heard Woods, head down into the clouds nuggets!" she yelled at the remaining of her squad who consisted of some 'nuggets', or rookie pilots.

I finally had the urge to speak, "Everyone, do the same as Marie's squad."

The remaining 18 jets all went to full throttle and attempted to escape the enemy fighters. Just before we reached the clouds, a rain of plasma emerged from behind us; the enemy wasn't going to let my squad leave alive. They weren't kidding when they wanted them dead; 16 of the 18 jets were destroyed as a result of being left open for an attack. Only Woods, Blaze and I were left.

"Kevin, we've lost 79% of our forces all over America. We're even getting reports that most cities have been leveled, other have been devastated. Get out of there NOW!" Johnson yelled over the radio.

I didn't hesitate at what Johnson yelled, "Yes sir. Let's go Woods; you too guy!"

"Right behind you sir" Woods replied.

"Don't mind if I do! And the name is Blaze!" Blaze yelled.

"Marie, retreat to Nevada Area 51 immediately. You have full access to land there with your squad." I said in a loud voice.

Marie replied, "Yes sir, but, I don't think I'll make it. I have three enemies on my tail, and my entire squad is gone." She said, "I can't get away."

"Oh shit, she's hundreds of miles away from us!" Woods yelled desperately.

I started to get the worst feeling I had ever felt. I was filled with so much guilt and was getting a sick like feeling.

"Marie, don…don't give u…up. Keep going, and I promise; you'll get to safety." I said in a shaky voice, "Your service won't end today…"

Marie replied, "Thank you" She knew I was lying, "It's been an honor serving with you today."

I didn't reply.

Woods spoke up, "Kevin isn't here right now." He said.

Marie seemed confused, "What? Was he…" Marie was cut off.

"Nope… he's right next to you." Woods said.

I was flying at incredible speeds; so fast that I couldn't see much because everything was a blur. As I flew passed Marie and the enemy pilots, I slowed down and turned back towards the four ships. I approached quickly and took out all three enemy pilots. Once they were engulfed by a fiery explosion I flew up next to Marie's F-22. She looked over at me and smiled.

"Thank you" Marie said softly.

I just replied with a serious tone, "No problem, just get to Nevada and pray no one sees you. I can't handle this stress anymore."

Marie nodded, "I'll stay in the clouds."

I smiled, "Good idea" I replied.

I accelerated to the same speed I was at when I arrived to Marie's rescue and headed back to Woods and Blaze. They were both being chased by the squad they had failed to destroy. As I neared their location, I opened fire and hit several of the enemy ships. I circled back around and finished two of them. The other three disappeared into the clouds.

"Let's get to Area 51. I'm tired of this shit." I said.

Woods agreed.

I rejoined the formation with Blaze and Woods. I was glad to know that this nonsense fighting was done for now. Just as I drew a breath of relief, the three remaining ships emerged from the clouds and opened fire on the three of us.

"Arrrgghh!" I yelled in frustration. "Why won't you friken die?" I yelled even louder.

I was then trailed by one of the fighters; this one was skilled. Woods was also being trailed by one of the fighters, same with Blaze. We all tried desperately to free ourselves from the enemy sights, but we remained unsuccessful. Woods was hit and so was I.

Blaze, the semi rookie pilot and one of the remaining survivors of my squad, got an idea that would work great for his two leaders, but not for him. As he veered left and right to shake the enemy's sights, he pulled left and flew towards me. He crossed between the enemy and my fighter, causing the enemy to go after him instead. Then Blaze went for Woods' jet and did the same, causing the enemy fighter to trail behind Blaze.

I looked at Blaze's jet, "What the HELL are you doing?"

I saw Blaze remove his oxygen mask, "I'm buying you two time so you can get out of here! Go before these things decided to get you instead!"

I shook my head, "I'm not losing another squad member!" I was tired of all this death being put on my head.

Blaze now was yelling, "GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE! GET BACK TO BASE AND FINISH THIS DAMN ARMY OFF!"

I was annoyed by Blaze now, "NO, I'm giving you a direct order!" I yelled back.

Blaze was frustrated, "These things don't CARE FOR ORDERS! NOW GO!"

Woods and I were left with no choice and accelerated to near Mach 1 speeds. We quickly left the area and headed back for Area 51.

Blaze was furiously trying to shake off of the enemy. He was trying to piss them off by throwing their aim off. He soon proved to be good at this. Eventually, he was hit. Lasers hit his main body hull and the outside of his wing. I saw this all happen as I looked back at him.

"Argh, I'm hit." Blaze yelled.

I couldn't listen to what Blaze was doing. It was just too much for me to handle at this point.

A moment passed and Blaze was hit again, then again, then again; twice in the engine, and once in the body hull.

"It's been an honor serving with you and this country." Blaze said as his communications line died out.

Lasers continued to hammer Blazes jet. He was continuously hit until a laser hit him directly in the cockpit. This was when his comm line died completely. I looked back in front of me as I saw the laser fire stop.

I felt a tear run down my face. I lost an entire squad, was losing the entire army, losing against Wolf, and even nearly got killed again. I was in so much pain and felt so guilty for the whole thing.

"This entire war is shit." I said softly.

Woods sighed, "It's always shit. Not as bad as this, but still shit."

"I can't believe how easy Wolf was able to do this. We crippled his armada back in Lylat, he should be fucking DEAD!" I said angrily. "I was THIS close to killing that bastard!" I said as I pinched my fingers together.

Woods was confused, "Lylat? What's that?" he asked.

I was snapped out of my anger induced trance, "Huh? Oh, um, Lylat is the system that Star Fox originated from. It's full of life bearing planets with species of all kinds; Vulpine, Avian, etc. It's mostly dog like species, but there are a wide mix of others." I said as my voice grew softer.

Woods was still a bit confused, but decided to go with what I said, "Interesting" he stated.

_Unknown Perspective..._

I trailed the two below the cloud cover. I was piloting a specially modified Venomian Class VII fighter with highly advanced stealth technology, so advanced that it allowed near perfect cloaking.

My name is Robert Wright. My code name was 'K'. I was part of Wolf's elite forces known as the 'Marauders'. These pilots specialized in air tactics and in ground livability; each pilot in this squad received training from Star Wolf themselves, including myself. As I followed the two pilots, I received a transmission from Wolf.

I patched the transmission through, "Yes my lord, how can I be of service?" I asked.

Wolf spoke in a serious and malevolent tone, "Have you located the human Kevin?"

I smiled, "Of course, my lord. He is accompanied by another human in some sort of fighter."

Wolf chuckled, "Perfect"

I activated my weapon systems, "Shall I terminate them?"

Wolf seemed pleased to hear that I wanted to take initiative, but he also looked displeased to hear that he wouldn't be the one to kill Kevin. Wolf was thinking hard about this, but eventually came up with a simple answer.

"Kill them" he said slowly.

Wolf knew very well that if Kevin were too live, he would eventually find a way to counter his forces; he did not want this to happen, obviously.

I deactivated the cloaking and quickly rose behind the two fighters. I carefully took aim at Kevin's fighter and readied to fire. What I didn't know was that Kevin was onto his presence somehow.

_Kevin's Point of View_

"Hey, do you feel odd?" I asked Woods.

Woods was skeptical, "Yeah, why?"

I shook my head, "I don't know; I feel like… like… like we're being followed."

Suddenly, a barrage of laser fire came from behind us . The Arwing burst into flames and I spiraled towards the ground.

"Oh shit! I'm going down!" I yelled. I was scared for my life because I couldn't regain control.

Several alarms were blaring as I spun out of control towards the ground. the mystery fighter did the same for Woods; he fired upon his jet and caused him to spin out of control with no engines.

As I neared the ground, I activated my shields on the armor suit to full power and braced for impact. I neared the ground quickly and hit it hard; it almost seemed like no time went by during the fall. As I hit the ground, the canopy of the cockpit broke. The Arwing bounced off the ground and skid to a halt. I was fortunately unharmed but was still thrown out of the cockpit as the Arwing bounced off of the ground.

"ARGHHH!" I yelled as I flew into the air.

I hit the ground with tremendous force; so hard that the wind was knocked out me completely. I coughed several times, trying to gain my breath again. Once I finally started to breathe normal again, I looked up and saw Woods' jet falling towards me. Immediately, I sprang to my feet and ran over to a very nearby forest. Once I reached it, Woods' jet hit the ground and exploded as well. It didn't skid or anything, it just blew up.

I was shocked and frightened, "WOODS!" I yelled.

"UP HERE!" Woods yelled.

I looked up and saw the pilot slowly descending with the help of a parachute. I was relieved to see that he was fine.

"Oh thank God" I said as he breathed a sigh of relief.

Woods hit the ground and clipped off his parachute. He hit the ground pretty hard, but not nearly as hard as I did. He stood up and ran over to me.

"What the hell was that?" Woods asked.

I shook my head, "I don't know, but whatever it was, it hid from us pretty well."

Woods and I looked up and saw nothing but a partly cloudy sky. We were surprised to not see the unknown fighter that had attacked us. Annoyed by this, I looked at my communicator; I opened a communications line with Marie.

"Marie, do you copy? This is Kevin." I said.

Marie replied, "This is Marie"

"Uh, Woods and I were shot down. We're fine; we're actually going to head over to a nearby city. Hopefully we can find something there that can help us." I said.

"Oh God; you're both alright?" She asked.

I looked at Woods, who gave me a thumbs up, "Yes we're fine. What about you?"

Marie sighed, "I'm halfway to Area 51." She said.

"Have you heard from Holt or Carter? They haven't checked in once with us." I asked.

"I'm sure they're fine. They may have retreated before the attack. They usually know their odds pretty well." Marie replied.

I nodded my head, "Okay, I can see that. Well, we're going to head out towards this city. I want you, when you get back to base, to tell the generals that Woods and I are fine and on our way back to base."

"Will do" Marie replied.

At this, I attempted to get a communications line with Fox or any of the other team. I was unsuccessful. Apparently my communicator was damaged upon crash landing, thus leaving me with short range communication and only slight data read outs.

"Damn it, my communicator is busted." I said frustratingly.

Woods sighed, "Do you think some forces are left in that nearby city?"

I shook my head as I looked in the direction of the horizon, "I'm not sure, but we have no other chances."

Woods looked at the city skyline as well, "Hopefully we won't find any hostile troops."

I chuckled and looked around on the ground. Woods was puzzled at what he was doing, "What are you looking for?"

I then reached down to my side; a piece of his armor then transformed and extended outwards, revealing a pistol. Woods seemed amazed at what he had just witnessed.

"Whoa" Woods exclaimed.

I then drew the pistol and held it up pointing at a tree. I pulled the trigger several times, sending bolts of energy flying at the defenseless tree. The bolts all hit it, causing it topple over after large chunks of the bark were chipped off.

"I'm looking for another one of these. You'll need a weapon when we get in the city, just in case." I said as I continued my scan of the ground.

After several minutes of searching through debris, I found nothing useful. The spare pistol must have been vaporized in the explosion. Displeased with the idea of going into the city without firepower, I made my only choice.

"Well, I can't find it; looks like we're going in with just this." I said as he held up the lone pistol.

Woods sighed, "Let's get going then."

The two of us then set out through the forest. It was a very densely packed area of trees that allowed little mobility. The movement capabilities were so little that it took us an hour to reach the city. Once we exited the forest, we came across a gate with barbed wire at the top.

"Did the city put this up?" Woods asked.

I just shook my head. I pressed a few buttons on my wrist communicator. Unfortunately, nothing happened.

"Damn it" I said under my breath.

Woods was confused, "What was supposed to happen?"

I looked at Woods and pointed to a small spot on his belt, "In here are special tools meant for survival. Since my suit is malfunctioning it won't open; prying it open won't help because it has a hexagonal security lock on it, meaning it only opens to my command."

Woods cursed loudly. He was almost as frustrated as I was.

I then pressed the small button on my wrist to activate my helmet. I was not surprised to see that it only came out a quarter of the way. It was jammed so it wouldn't entirely come out and over my head and face.

"I guess we climb this thing." I suggested after i sighed with anger.

Woods gestured to the fence, "After you"

_To Be Continued..._

_That's chapter 2 guys! You may have noticed that i decided to switch to a narrative point of view; this is not permanent. I did this as an experiment. I need all the feedback i can get about this chapter: did you like it? was it better than first person? descriptions? I need all of your comments on this chapter so i can start chapter 3 as a first person or a narrative. _

_Remember: It's up to you whether or not the book goes into narrative or first person._

_Update: March 19, 2013... Sorry i havent posted anything in a while; i have been extremely busy lately. I am still working on the book, i just have had very little time on my hands to write. ON top of that, i am debating whether or not i should continue writing the current chapter and post it. It goes to another member, but i am wondering if i should stay with Kevin and Woods for another chapter, THEN move to another Star Fox member. I will continue writing the current chapter, but it may be posted later on (If i decided to stay with Kevin another chapter). Given all of this, the next chapter may be up in less than a week (maybe by Friday)._

_Update: April 17, 2013... I know that a bunch of you didnt like the narrative style, so i went back and remastered the chapter into Kevin's point of view, along with a few other POV's. Hope you guys that are new enjoy the chapter and that the previous readers that left due to the change come back and take my apology for changing the story so drastically. _

_Until next time..._


	3. Chapter 3: Africa and the Truth

_Okay… after seeing the view count, the book will remain first person point of view. I guess you guys liked this perspective better. Anyway, the rest of the book will stay first person; each chapter will focus on each member (one person), rather than multiple people at once. Once this chapter has been posted, I will work on re writing the previous chapter back into first person. Also, I have some great plans with this book right now. I can tell this one is gonna be LONG. So without further ado…_

_On with the story…_

**Chapter 3: Africa and the Truth**

_While Kevin was in America, Fox was sent to Africa. While there, he earned the trust of the military and was granted Air control and minor ground control. It wasn't much, but Fox took it either way. With the forces under his command, he was ready to take the fight to Wolf's army. _

They took me to a rather small room with computer screens everywhere. Many workers were in there either typing or running to a fro to get work done. There were four well-dressed military leaders standing in the center of the room. The five of us took a seat. They asked me who I was and where I was from. I told them the entire story of the Lylat Wars, The Aparoid invasion, and even the Sauria incident. It took me a short amount of time to tell them everything; to me it was a good explanation.

"Are you sure we can trust you with this kind of authority?" one of the generals asked me.

"Of course; I lead my own team that has topped everything my military has done." I replied.

The general gave me a stern look. He was obviously not keen on the idea of giving me control, "Fine, we will give you air units and some ground troops. We have a highly skilled general already in command of the ground forces." The general finally said.

I nodded my head, "Thank you, I won't let you down."

The rest of the generals that had been sitting now stood and shook hands with me. They seemed displeased with the decision, but they also seemed to know that it was their only choice.

One of the other generals walked up to me, "Use this frequency" he said as he handed me a piece of paper, "Every single pilot is using this same frequency, use to command them."

I nodded and walked out of the room. I was then led by an escort out of the room and back outside. The HQ itself was not large. It was actually small from the outside. The Africans had devised a way to keep the base protected and hidden: they decided to build most of the structure underground. This provided them with protection and secrecy.

The escort looked at me, "Here is your ship" he said as he pointed to my Arwing.

I nodded my head, "Thank you" I then climbed up and open the hatch to the cockpit. Once it was opened, I climbed in and activated all the systems. I was a little confused as to how I would do this; I'm only allowed to be in one place at a time, and the pilots of this planet had nowhere near the same experience as I did.

"How the hell am I going to pull this off?" I said to myself.

Suddenly, a voice came over the radio, " ? Are you there?"

I quickly replied, "Ya… yes I'm here."

"Good, we forgot to tell you one small thing: we will assist you in commanding the air troops. We figure that this is a hard task for you." The voice replied.

I was relieved, "Thank you generals."

I then lifted off of the ground and took off into the sky. I was ready for Wolf and his army.

Completely lost in where I was supposed to go, I decided to think of the best strategy to defend. We couldn't just stand our ground and fight; it would lead to numerous losses. We couldn't attack them because they have space travel capabilities, we don't. And we couldn't surprise them; they would see us anywhere we hid. The choices kept coming, but each had an extreme negative effect to it.

"This will never work." I said to myself. "But I need to do this."

After some more time of thinking I thought of an idea that could work. Use only some pilots at a time; it would make for an easier time commanding and would really limit the losses.

"Generals?" I said.

"Yes, Mr. McCloud? Is there something wrong?" a general asked.

"No, nothing is wrong. I have a plan that will limit our losses if we fail to do any effect to this army." I said.

The general replied, "Fire away"

I then explained to him what my plan had been. He liked it and agreed 100% with the chances. Since he was the one assisting in the commanding of the air forces, he sent out a message to every squad saying that some will launch immediately while others standby for orders.

"I have sent a message to squads that have been mobilized and to other squads to standby. Just give the command and reinforcements will be launched at will." The general said.

"Great" I said with a smile, "By the way, I never did get your name."

The general laughed, "That is true," he said as he chuckled, "my name is General Hodari."

"Good to finally call you something other than general." I said as I chuckled.

"Yes, well, the squads have reportedly taken off and are awaiting further orders. There are exactly three squads of 150 jets in every country. Thankfully, we were given funds from other countries to use in order to increase our armory." Hodari explained.

I smiled. Maybe we did have a chance after all.

"I will try my best to support these squads." I said.

Hodari then sighed, "Good luck, Mr. McCloud."

I looked at my HUD; it showed a map of the continent of Africa. On it were several areas marked off by lines, each area had a name next to it. I then entered the frequency that one of the generals had given me. Once I entered it, I spoke loudly and clearly.

"All squads in air, do you copy?" I said.

I received a mixture of responses.

"It's him!" one pilot said.

"He actually came." Another said.

"I thought they were lying." exclaimed another.

I sighed, "That's enough. I understand that there is a great deal of you here. I will try my best at keeping you alive and giving you the knowledge needed to win."

Every single pilot then replied in sync saying some words in a different dialect. I assumed that they understood what I said.

"Keep an ear out for any updates from me; I will tell you anything new that emerges during this fight." I said.

The pilots all replied saying the same thing they had previously said.

I smiled. I was glad to hear that these pilots would be respectful and listen to me.

"Any squads surrounding…" I said as I looked at the map, "… the country of Algeria?"

A huge amount of voices then started to babble about them being in the country.

"Okay okay… I will accompany the squads nearest to me. Who is that exactly?" I asked.

A single pilot spoke up, "Where are you?"

"Well, I am near the city of Tamanrasset." I replied.

Another pilot spoke up, "Ah, my squad of jets is about seven miles north from there. You may join us if you like."

I agreed, "On my way to your location."

I steered towards the north and accelerated to incredible speeds. During the small trip, I thought of how I was going to have the squad attack. It dawned on me that when the enemy fighters arrive, I should scan them immediately and find some sort of weakness. Knowing about Wolf's technological advantage over these pilots, I knew it was the one thing that would determine the outcome of this battle.

I arrived exactly seven miles north of the city Tamarasset and saw nothing in sight. All I saw was small villages on the ground, a city in the distance, and hills everywhere. It wasn't until a few minutes later that I saw a huge cloud of black appear off in the distance. I quickly flew towards it and started to see figures form from the cloud; eventually, I could see the numerous jets flying in formation.

"Ah, I found you." I said.

Suddenly, a pilot started to yell some things in the same type of dialect the squads used when I was speaking to them. After his rant, a darker, deeper voice spoke.

"Kalmeer, kalmeer, It's only the visitor." The voice said.

I was caught off guard when he started to yell, but nonetheless, I was glad he stopped.

"Which one of you is the leader?" I asked.

The deep voice replied, "That would be me; Lieutenant General Jelani. But you may call me John."

I chuckled, "Good, I'll need some help commanding all of these pilots."

John replied, "No doubt. I have my three best pilots assisting as well."

I was curious as to know who they were, "And who would they be?"

"Lieutenant Akeelah; I am one of those pilots that will help." A female voice said.

"First Sergeant Sekou; I am here for assistance, visitor." A male voice said.

"Master Sergeant Rashid" Another voice said emotionless.

I decided to introduce myself as well, "I am Fox McCloud of the Star Fox team."

I was pleased to hear that I would have some help in commanding the jets; I was even more pleased to hear the kind of experience they had.

"Great, now we just need to go over the plan of attack." I said.

"Which is..?" replied John.

"When the enemy ships arrive, I will conduct a scan of them. It is bound that they will have some type of protection." I explained.

Sekou spoke, "What do you mean 'protection'?"

Akeelah agreed with him.

"This army has technologies that surpass this planet by a long shot. They will most likely have something keeping them protected from your conventional weaponry." I explained.

John replied with a question, "Where exactly are you?"

I realized that I was still a bit far from the formation. With that, I flew closer to them and eventually joined the formation by flying next to John's craft.

John and the entire squad gasped. I guessed that it was the sight of the Arwing.

"Dit nie moontlik." John exclaimed.

"Excuse me?" I asked.

Akeelah spoke, "He said 'it's not possible'."

I chuckled, "Well, stop freaking out over the ship. You all need to focus on the fight that is about to unfold."

The four leaders agreed with me and composed themselves.

"So, Rashid, you're a master sergeant?" I asked.

Rashid didn't speak. I was left in an awkward silence.

"Rashid?" I asked.

John replied, "Um, Rashid has some… issues."

I was confused, "Issues? What kind of issues?"

Akeelah sighed, "He doesn't trust you."

Rashid suddenly spoke, "Akeelah, no one asked you!"

I was shocked to see that a single pilot did not trust me. It really didn't affect me in any way, but I was still a little offended by it. I even had a feeling that several pilots didn't trust me.

"So you don't trust me? May I ask why?" I said.

Again, Rashid stayed quiet. "Rashid, you better not give us any trouble or so help me I will shoot you myself." John suddenly said.

Rashid finally spoke, "Fine… I don't trust you for reasons that stay with me."

I sighed, "You don't trust me because I'm different, right?"

Rashid stayed quiet. "I'll take that as a yes."

After a few minutes of silence, a loud noise was heard from all directions. This caught everyone by surprise. I started to look around quickly to find the source of the sound, but was unsuccessful. Out of nowhere, a pilot screamed.

"Holy SHIT!" he yelled before his comm line died.

I continued looking around and saw a light emit from behind us. It was an explosion.

"Sir, we just lost Alli!" a pilot nearby shouted.

I gritted my teeth and looked around quickly once again; this time, however, I found a large cloud of grey above us. It was growing in size quickly; I soon realized that it was the enemy forces. Appalled by the sight of the forces, I quickly shouted my first order.

"Everyone split up NOW!" I yelled.

I took off towards the sky; as did Akeelah, John, and several other pilots. Everyone else seemed to pair up with other pilots to form small groups.

As my group of fighters neared the large grey cloud, the cloud started to split apart. They spilt up into large groups and then went into full on attack mode.

"Watch your six and try to keep from being chased." I exclaimed.

Immediately, I had the on-board computer scan a single fighter. The computer quickly gave me the readouts. Each fighter had Duel-Laser systems and a single energy shield. The shield was vulnerable enough to be knocked out by a single hit from a conventional missile.

"My computer reads that you need to hit each fighter with two missiles. It's your best chance of destroying one of these." I quickly said.

Right after I finished speaking, my group of fighters collided with the large formation of fighters. Several of my troops were killed by mid-air collisions; same as the enemy troops. After a few seconds of flying through the mess of fighters, my group reached the other end and came out of the large pile up. Once we exited, I saw a huge amount of jets and enemy ships flying around fighting.

"My group; turn back and open fire on the large group we just tore through." I said.

Me, John, Akeelah, and the several pilots that stuck with us turned around and faced the enemy formation. They were heading back for us as well. About halfway through, I yelled my next command.

"FIRE!" I yelled.

I immediately started to fire a barrage of blue energy at the enemy. At the same time, numerous amounts of missiles emerged from behind me; they all raced towards their targets. The enemy formation quickly dispersed after a large chunk of their numbers was cut down from our line of fire.

"Great job split up and keep at it." I said as I accelerated to a small group of fighters that were chasing an allied jet.

I steered behind the group and followed after them. I carefully lined my sights up with them and opened fire. Each one of them went down like flies.

"Thank you, sir." The pilot said cheerfully as he banked towards the right.

I turned my attention to another group of enemy fighters. They were flying aimlessly around the combat zone.

"Not doing your job?" I said to myself.

I lined my sights up with the few fighters and fired. Each was destroyed with ease.

Suddenly, John yelled, "McCloud, we lost more than half of our fighters!"

I was filled with utter shock, "What?!"

Akeelah gasped, "Call in the reinforcements!"

I stuttered, "U-um… HQ… this is Fox."

Headquarters quickly responded, "What's the situation?"

John quickly took over, "We've lost almost 60% of our troops. Send the backup NOW!"

HQ quickly replied with a negative answer, "I'm sorry, but you're the last of the air force. Everyone else has either taken the reinforcements or has been completely destroyed."

I was shocked to hear what HQ had to say. There was no possible way that we had lost so many troops in such a short amount of time. It was practically impossible!

"How have we lost so many?" I asked.

HQ just replied with a simple response, "…They're too powerful…" HQ replied, "…we can't win…"

I wasn't going to give up like that. HQ wanted too, but I wasn't.

"No…" I said quietly.

"Fox, what now?" Sekou asked.

I thought of an idea that could work, "Everyone… follow me. Push your throttle to the max!"

I then took off away from the battle area. I looked behind me and saw about twenty jets following me; the enemy fighters were doing the same, only going the opposite direction.

"Are they retreating?" A pilot asked.

I knew exactly what they were doing, "No, they aren't. Quickly, set up a V-formation. We'll hit them with everything we have."

A pilot yelled, "THAT'S SUICIDE!"

I returned with a stern voice, "IT"S OUR ONLY CHANCE OF WINNING!"

I turned around and activated the G-Diffuser brakes. It took a minute for the jets to fly into the appropriate V-formation. Once they did, they flew towards me. When they got close, I released the brakes and took the front spot.

"When they get close, fire EVERYTHING." I said.

John replied with discomfort, "I hope this plan of your works."

"If it doesn't, what do we do?" Rashid asked.

I was disappointed to know of our few options. We either flee or stay and fight.

"We have no choice. If it doesn't work as planned, we must stay and fight till the bitter end." I said.

Sekou replied, "I had a feeling you were going to say that."

As the enemy fighters neared our formation, I readied to fire my supply of Smart Bombs. I knew it would damage some of the jets, but there was no other choice. We wouldn't leave alive if we just stood our ground; their tech is too much for the jets and their maneuverability is far greater than the Arwings.

"Get ready" I said slowly.

I lifted my thumb and placed it over a red button on the left control; I looked up at the hostile ships and closed my eyes. I took several deep breaths and prayed for the best outcome.

I opened my eyes quickly and yelled my final command, "FIRE!"

I pressed the red button twice, causing two glowing orbs to launch from under the Arwing. A barrage of missiles also emerged from behind me.

"Don't fire the chain guns until you see the missiles explode." I said.

Just as I expected, the missiles and Smart Bombs detonated dangerously close to our formation. We flew right into the mess of hostile fighters along with the explosions. Several of the ships were destroyed, the rest were damaged beyond recognition.

"Stay on course. Whatever you do, don't change direction!" I said.

Once we flew out of the pile up of ships, I noticed that our numbers were cut down significantly. Only ten of us remained. It was more than I had expected, but still worked better than I had thought.

"Holy shit… did that…" asked Sekou.

I sighed, "Not entirely."

I looked back and saw the remaining enemy ships spiral out of control and detonate.

"Thank God… they're done…" I said as a sigh of relief came from my mouth, "…we win this battle…"

A cheer from the remaining pilots was heard. Everyone was cheering not only for the fact that they survived, but also for the fact that they defeated an enemy beyond their power. I was actually surprised as well, I did not expect to win this battle, given the fact that these jest were so low tech.

"All aircraft… report." I said as I sighed once more.

All the pilots stated their names. The last to go were the main squad leaders.

"This is John; I'm fine but a bit damaged." John said in a very shaky voice.

"Rashid here" He said in his emotionless voice.

Sekou then went, "This is Sekou, I'm shaken but okay."

It suddenly grew silent. It was unprecedented. I expected for Akeelah to respond as well, but she didn't. I wondered if she was having difficulties with her comms.

"Akeelah, respond." I said.

No response. John and Sekou both sighed slightly; Rashid stayed quiet.

"Sir…" A pilot slowly said.

I replied, "What?"

The pilot answered quietly, "Radar isn't picking up her signal…"

"What?" I asked.

Rashid then spoke, "She's dead… dumbass. What the hell would that mean?"

I was baffled to hear Rashid. I couldn't believe it in any way. She couldn't have died; she was with us before our final attack run.

"No…no… she's not… she's having technical problems. It happens rarely in these Arwings, I'm sure it happens more often in the jets." I explained.

"No Fox, she isn't anywhere on radar… she's gone." John said slowly and quietly.

I have never lost anyone as skilled as her ever! They have always returned safe and sound. I guess I wasn't used to commanding such big forces that I wasn't getting clear enough commands.

I pounded my fist on my HUD, "Damn it!"

"Fox, let us head back to base. We are done here." Sekou said.

"Fine" I replied with a sigh.

The 11 of us then changed course and headed back in the direction of the base that the squad had taken off from. It took a few minutes at full speed, but we eventually reached the controlled airspace.

"This is General Jelani; requesting permission to land." John said.

There was a moment of silence. The base didn't respond, only static was heard.

"This is General Jelani to air force base Alpha-Delta-Tango, please respond." John said.

Still no response; we couldn't see the base because we were above cloud cover. Since there was no response, I decided to investigate.

"Hold on…" I said, "…follow me below the clouds. I have a bad feeling about this."

The 11 of us then slowly decreased our altitude until we were below the clouds. As soon as we could see the ground, we were met with an unforgiving sight. There was a large cloud of black smoke several miles away from our position. I could only assume the worst.

"Oh shit…" I said quietly.

As we neared the cloud of smoke, the base became visible; it was covered by some fog and hills. As soon as I saw the base, I gasped. It was engulfed in flames and every building was either leveled or damaged greatly; none were standing without some damage dealt to them.

"Oh God…" Sekou exclaimed.

"…how" A pilot muttered.

"This isn't good; we need fuel if we are to make it to another base." John said quickly.

I thought of something, I had a pistol concealed in my Arwing. With that thought, I decided to go down to the base and find a source of fuel.

"I'll head down and find something that will power your jets." I said.

I pushed the throttle and headed down to the wrecked base. It was a total mess; I couldn't identify some of the buildings and others were just barley standing. I soon found and opening in the debris riddled base and landed on the spot. Once I touched down and sent the Arwing to hover, I reached into a special compartment and grabbed my D-40 pistol. I opened the canopy and jumped out.

I lifted my wrist and started to comm line with the squad, "What exactly am I looking for?" I asked.

Sekou replied, "Our jets run on these prototype fuel cells. They should be in the research facility."

"What do they look like?" I said as I stood up and slowly looked around.

John replied, "They are glowing green and are about the size of football. They can supply the jets with enough fuel to reach America if we needed to go there."

"Well, I better get looking then." I said as I started to walk towards a large building that was barley standing.

"Fox, it looks like the research building is towards the Northern part of the base." Sekou explained.

I was puzzled, "Where am I right now then?"

Sekou replied, "You are towards the middle. Head north and you'll find a building that seems about ready to collapse."

"Oh crap…" I thought, "… I have to go into a crumbling building."

"You better hurry; I can it from here, it looks like it won't stand for much longer." Sekou added.

"…shit" I said.

I started to run in the direction that Sekou and directed me in. After a minute of sprinting, I reached the designated building that Sekou was talking about. It really was crumbling; this meant that I had almost no time to get cells.

"Okay, I think I found the building." I looked up and saw the group of jets slowly circling around the base.

"That's it; the cells should be near the back." Sekou explained.

The building itself seemed to be four stories tall and three times as long as it was tall. In other words, the cells were far from the entrance.

"Good luck, McCloud." Sekou said.

As I entered the building, I noticed that I started to crumble a bit. Debris fell from the ceiling and nearly hit me. I sidestepped and avoided the chunk of cement. I continued my careful journey through the building. After a few minutes, I reached the back. There were several doors; one said 'Fuel Cell Storage'.

"I found the room. How many do I need to grab?" I asked.

"Just 10" John replied.

I reached out and slowly opened the door to the room; chunks of debris made it difficult to open the door. Eventually, I opened the door and found several metallic cases. Each had the words 'Cell' printed on them.

"I think I found them. Are they in cases?" I asked.

Sekou quickly replied, "Yes, there are five in a case. Grab two of them and get out of there."

I put my pistol into my holster and grabbed two of the metallic cases. Once I did so, I started to jog back towards the entrance. As I neared it, the building started to shake violently and more debris started to fall.

"Oh shit, Fox get out of there quickly!" John yelled.

I started to run slightly faster. I jumped back and forth, trying to dodge the debris. About twenty feet from the entrance, I was hit by a chunk of ceiling. I was knocked to the ground and I dropped the two cases. I quickly turned around and faced the ceiling; I saw it getting closer and closer to me. I immediately stumbled to get back up. Once I got to my feet, I grabbed the two cases and stumbled towards the door. I had so much pain in my back since I was hit that my strength was reduced.

"Almost….there…" I said as I neared the entrance.

I looked up and the saw the ceiling moving fast towards me. At this, I lunged forward and feel just outside of the entrance. Luckily, the doorway did not collapse. I was safe but hurt.

"Fox... Fox?" John asked.

"Fox… please respond." Sekou said.

I got up and raised my communicator, "This is Fox; I have the cells."

I heard John let out a sigh of relief. Sekou then said something in his native dialect.

"We'll land immediately." John said.

I started to slowly walk towards the air strip. It was slightly littered with debris, but it was clear enough for a landing. As I walked over to my destination, I noticed something odd about the buildings that I passed along the way. All of them were burned and vaporized; there were also metal shards everywhere on the ground. I stopped and picked one up, it had the letters '/M Sparrow' on it. It seemed odd to me, but I just tossed it aside. As I continued walking, I saw a building with burnt cinders everywhere. I looked closely at the building and noticed that there was no plasma residue. This started to confuse me even more. No plasma residue? But that could mean one thing and one thing only. I didn't think it was true and decided to drop the idea. Once I did, I continued my walk to the air strip. Once I reached it, the 10 pilots were waiting for me on the tar mat.

"What took you so long, my friend?" John asked.

I sighed, "Takes a lot out of me when I have to carry these two with a hurt back and legs."

Sekou just looked at me. Neither he nor the other pilots had seen me before. They were all awestruck when they saw that I was a fox.

"What? You're a… fox?" Sekou asked.

I chuckled, "Of course I am."

The other pilots continued looking at me.

"Yes I know that this planet has a species that looks identical to me called a 'fox'. I'm just… more evolved." I explained.

The pilots then stopped gazing at me and turned their attention towards the two boxes. I looked down and opened the two, revealing glowing, green tubes. They were the fuel cells. At once, the pilots grabbed one and replaced the old fuel cell with the new ones they had received.

While they were doing so, I had the same strange feeling I had felt when I was investigating the building. It didn't feel right to me for some reason. The whole 'no plasma' didn't seem right in any way. As I watched the pilots change the cells, my communicator started to buzz. I was getting a call from Falco.

"Fox here, what's wrong Falco?" I asked.

Falco's voice seemed worried, "FOX! Thank GOD you're fine. Listen… I met the leaders here."

I was stunned to hear how fast he was talking, "Okay then, good job."

Falco quickly replied, "NO, not a good job. They tried to fucking kill me!"

I was shocked to hear those words. Did he really just tell me that they tried to kill him?

"That's ridiculous, Falco." I said.

Falco seemed to grow angry, "Fox, I'm not joking around! They told me that they were with Wolf. They said that they were working with him to stay alive. They told me that they were working along with Africa, Australia, Russia, and China! They aren't the people that they said they were! They tricked us!"

My eyes grew wide. I slowly looked up at the pilots; they were still changing their cells.

"Get in contact with Krystal and Slippy. Tell them to leave immediately and head to America." I said.

"Got it" Falco said as he ended the comm line.

I reached down and slowly pulled out my pistol. I then raised it and pointed it towards John. As I did this, I slowly walked towards him. Once I reached him, I touched the barrel of the pistol to his head.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked stern fully.

John lowered his head and spoke softly. I'm sure he knew that his cover was blown.

"We had no choice…" he said.

"Bullshit" I replied.

A few of the pilots then turned around and gasped.

"Crap…" several of them muttered.

I then looked over at my Arwing, then back at John. I had several good reasons to shoot this traitor right then and there.

"You know what I do to traitors?" I said quietly.

John shook his head slowly. "I kill them" I replied.

John then turned around slowly and fell to his knees. "Please, we had no choice. If we didn't take the deal, he would have killed us."

"Look like he wants that, doesn't he?" I asked.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Rashid pull out a pistol. John yelled as I swung my pistol around and fired a bolt at Rashid. It hit him the arm.

"Argh!" He yelled as he fell to the ground.

"Stop!" John yelled.

Rashid then spoke, "We have to keep the deal!"

John yelled again, "Rashid, I said STOP!"

"Why would you destroy your own base?" I asked.

Rashid spoke, "The generals were in the way of working with Wolf. The squads were sent to their destinations but instead went to bases that had these generals and destroyed them. It was to make it look like we were with you!"

John then yelled once more, "God Damn it!"

John then jumped to his feet and pulled out a knife. He tried to cut me, but I swiftly dodged it and threw a punch at his face. He fell to the ground, allowing me time to shoot him. I fired two bolts at his legs. At this, the other pilots then ran towards me with knives or pistols. I dropped all of them with ease.

I looked back at John, "Why" I asked.

"Go to hell…" he said slowly.

I didn't have time to negotiate with him; I needed answers.

I fired another bolt into John's chest. He died immediately. As for Rashid, he was trying to get away by crawling towards a dead pilot and grabbing his gun. He raised the weapon and fired several shots as me; each bounced off of my shield. I walked over to him as he continued to fire at me.

"You understand why I'm doing this." I said as I raised the pistol and fired a bolt into Rashid's chest.

I closed my eyes and lowered my head. I couldn't believe that they were playing me and the team the entire time.

I started to think, "So, Wolf had them destroy their own bases and made it look like he did it; leaving us to think that these countries were with us. He will die if I find him."

After I thought through this whole betrayal fiasco, I headed to my Arwing and took off towards the sky. I set a course for America and immediately went to full throttle. I reached my destination in a matter of seconds.

I opened a comm line with Kevin, "Kev, are you there?"

No answer.

Right after that, I received a transmission from Krystal.

"Fox, are you alright?" She asked.

"I'm fine, what about you?" I asked back.

"Falco called me just after the air forces began attacking me." She said, "I didn't get sustain any damage, so I'm fine."

"Good, I'm having some trouble getting a hold of Kevin though." I said.

"Do you think America formed a similar treaty?" She asked.

I shook my head, "No, they ordered the attack."

Krystal nodded her head, "Okay, we better head back to that base. Maybe they can explain this entire mess."

I nodded as well, "Agreed, I'll meet back at the base."

"Sounds like a plan." She said as she cut the transmission.

About a minute later, I reached the base. It seemed untouched by any enemy units. I was shocked to see it still in one piece.

I received a call from the base. I patched it through and expected them to open fire upon me. Instead, they seemed worried.

"Fox? Holy shit, you're alive?" A male voice said.

"Yes" I replied.

"Oh…um… I'm the one that sent your team to the different countries." He said.

"Ah yes, the one that sent us into a trap!" I barked.

"That is not the case. Just land and we'll explain when your team arrives." The man replied.

"Wait, is Kevin there?" I asked.

"Yes, he and a pilot named Woods were the only survivors of their squad." The man said.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God"

I then cut the transmission and landed in front of the hangar that I had met the general in front of. I had a feeling that they were about to explain everything that had happened.

_To Be Continued…._

_HOLY CRAP! What a chapter__ ! We have a betrayal, action, fights, a lot of crazy stuff! Now you know why I took a while with this one. _

_Anyway… let me know how you thought of this chapter. If you like it, then I may put more detail into the story! That means more surprises! Next chapter may be up in less than a week… so…_

_Until next time…_


	4. Chapter 4: The Real War Begins

_I don't really have much to say other than that last week were mid-terms and also I was on spring break and away from home (hence the reason why I took forever for this chapter). Anyway, I'm also glad to hear that you all liked the last chapter. Doing the whole betrayal gave me SO MUCH ideas that I will write about! So… let's stop talking and get…_

_On with the story…_

**Chapter 4: The Real War Begins**

_After Fox, Krystal, Slippy, and Falco returned from their designated countries, they immediately started to ask questions. Even Kevin was confused on the whole fiasco. Not only were they asking questions, but the remaining government did as well. _

"What the fuck is going on!?" Fox said as he stormed into the war room.

I was at the front of the room on the catwalk talking to General Cruz about what had happened with my squad. I looked up and over to the other end of the room. The door blew opened and revealed Fox on the other side. Commander Brooks and General Johnson quickly got up from their seats and rushed over to Fox. They tried to keep him back from General Reyes.

"You knew about this! You tried to get us killed!" Fox yelled as he threw punches into air.

I ran around on the catwalk and tackled Fox from behind. He landed with a loud thumb. He tried to wiggle around but was unsuccessful.

"Fox, calm down!" I said loudly.

He stopped moving around. I slowly got off of him and helped him up to his feet. Once he got up, he dusted himself off and stared at Reyes.

"You knew!" Fox said as he pointed at Reyes.

Reyes looked incredibly confused, "What are you talking about?"

Fox seemed to get annoyed, "The TRAP!"

Brooks took over, "Why the hell would we send you into a trap?"

I started to get incredibly confused, "What in God's name is going on?"

Fox then looked at me, "You don't know?" he quickly said.

I was really annoyed now, "Holy crap, I don't!"

Reyes spoke, "I'm just as confused as Kevin. Why are you trying to kill me?"

Fox, still mad, yelled, "You knew that these countries would turn on us and try to kill us!"

Brooks and Johnson's eyes grew wide, "What?" Brooks asked.

Fox finally got some sense knocked into him, "None of you know!?"

I spoke in a calm tone, "No Fox, we don't know what happened. We only thought that your squads had been… destroyed, along with any military forces with you."

Fox was now a bit calm but still mad, "Why would you think that?"

Cruz came around and intervened, "Your communications line went dead right after we had confirmation of you engaging."

"We suspected either death, or jamming." Reyes continued, "Death was the more plausible assumption."

Fox now seemed worried, "Wait… what about the others. I know Falco and Krystal are fine, but what about Slippy?"

I suddenly figured out what Fox was getting at, "Oh shit, he's right. Are his lines up?"

Reyes walked over to the edge of the catwalk and yelled down at the workers, "Check the status on Slippy, now!"

Almost immediately he was given an answer, "Sir, we made contact with him ten minutes ago. He claimed that he was doing fine with the Chinese and Russians."

I looked back at Fox. He didn't seem to enjoy the workers answer. I looked down at my communicator; it said that three allies were nearby.

"Falco and Krystal are here." I said suddenly.

Fox looked down at his as well, "Good" After he said that, he started to push a few buttons.

"You should contact Slippy; I don't like the whole 'I'm doing fine' answer after what happened to you." I said.

Fox looked up at me, "It happened to Falco first, then Krystal. She was able to get away before it even happened. Falco, on the other hand, was nearly killed."

Brooks sighed, "Holy crap"

Johnson spoke up, "Were they really this prepared? Not even our spies knew of this."

I was getting sick, "What the hell is going on?" I said quietly.

After a while, a voice was heard over Fox's communicator, "Hey Fox, what's up?"

Fox immediately replied, "Slippy, listen to me and listen to me carefully. Get out of there now!" He said slowly and calmly.

"What? Why would I do that?" Slippy asked.

Fox sighed, "Slippy, those people you're working with aren't who you think they are."

"What?" Slippy asked in a confused tone.

"Damn it, Slippy; they're going to kill you! Leave before they get the chance!" Fox said loudly.

Just then, Falco and Krystal walked through the doors. I walked over to them and left Fox to continue his conversation with Slippy.

"Are you guys okay?" I asked the duo.

Krystal nodded her head. Falco remained emotionless and stared off into space.

"Falco?" I asked.

"I'm fine, kid. Just a bit shaken." He finally replied as he shook his head to get out of his trance.

I nodded, "I wish I could say the same."

Krystal raised an eyebrow, "Why's that?"

I looked back and saw Woods sitting in a chair next to one of the small office spaces on our level. I was shocked to even be here; the both of us are incredibly lucky.

"You see that man over there in the green flight suit?" I asked the two.

"Yeah, what about him?" Falco asked.

I sighed, "He and I are the remaining two from my squad of one hundred. It wasn't a pretty battle either, two of my squad leaders were shot down, and the third is somewhere out there hopefully on her way now."

Falco just sighed.

"It's good you two escaped before you were killed. I just can't believe that we come here, trying to stop Wolf, and end up learning that he has forced our former allies to turn against us." I sighed, "This is all just bullshit. None of this should have happened."

Krystal just lowered her head, "This is what we're fighting for?"

"It isn't much, but America, Canada, Mexico, and South America are the only one's fighting Wolf and the rest of the world." I said.

Falco spoke, "So we do have allies?"

"Yes, thankfully, South America and Mexico were able to handle the small amount of forces that Wolf sent."

"What about Canada?" Krystal asked.

I smiled a little, "Thankfully, no forces were sent there. They are more than likely preparing for anything to happen."

The three of us walked back to the generals and Fox. Fox had just finished his conversation with Slippy and the Generals had confirmed that they were allied with Canada, Mexico, and South America.

"Slippy is on his way." Fox said as he raised his head to look at Krystal, Falco, and me.

"Perfect, now we can start to find a way to rebel." I said.

General Reyes approached us, "It's not that easy. We may have fended off some of Wolf's forces, but we still have an incredibly small army. Anyone who was left was ordered to retreat to this base."

Brooks then interrupted, "I have some bad news to bring you." He said.

"Oh crap…" I said quietly.

The seven of us paid close attention to him, as did the entire room. People working in the small office space walked out of their rooms and looked over at Brooks.

Brooks closed his eyes and lowered his head. After a few moments of silence, he spoke, "Just now, I was told that Canada, South America, and Mexico are standing with us to fight Wolf. I can now confirm the ordeal that unfolded with our allies, Star Fox, was indeed true and was intentional."

Fox quietly muttered, "No shit"

Brooks continued after he stayed quiet for a few seconds, "….France just declared war, along with her allies." He finished.

Reyes sighed, "Damn"

"They are allied with the all of Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia." Brooks said.

I lowered my head, "How the hell are we going to win this?"

Cruz spoke up, "It doesn't matter how we win, but as long as we are here and fighting, Wolf will continue to attack us. He already has some territory in America and in South America."

"Well crap…" I quietly said.

"How ARE we going to do this?" Krystal asked.

"It's simple… we do this OUR way!" Fox finally said.

Reyes replied, "Excuse me?"

Falco responded, "You heard him. If we are fighting this war, we're doing it our way!"

Cruz then spoke, "You are here as a guest on our planet. As long as you are here, you follow our directives."

Fox then walked over to Cruz, "In case you haven't noticed, we're Mercenaries. We don't have any 'directives' regardless of the government."

I then spoke up, "Sir, just listen to him. I'm sure he knows exactly what to do."

Reyes then spoke up, "Hold up, didn't you do this your way back in your system?"

The four of us looked at Reyes, "What do you mean?" I asked.

Reyes then threw his arms up, "Well, look at what you did! Wolf is HERE and not DEAD. If you're way was effective, then why is he HERE? Your way didn't do anything but decrease his forces. We still have to fight this bastard!"

Fox just stared at Reyes, "What has your plan done? NOTHING! Your way just cost the life of thousands of soldiers!"

Reyes just stayed silent, as did Brooks, Cruz, and Johnson and everyone who was watching us.

Krystal spoke up, "Look, our plan mixed with yours would prove to be effective against Wolf's forces. Yours for the Earth forces, ours for Wolf's."

After a few minutes of the four generals looking at each other and thinking. They came up with an answer.

Cruz spoke, "Fine, you handle Wolf's ships and we'll handle the Earth troops. I assume Wolf does not have ground troops?"

I looked over at Fox. He just shrugged. "We have no idea." Fox said.

Fox then looked over at me, "Kevin, when you went into Wolf's flagship; did you find any ground vehicles?"

I shook my head, "I only found ships in his hangar. But I am pretty sure he has ground troops. Since we destroyed the shields on his warships, he won't keep them in the air; he'll land them so we won't be able to hit them with Nukes. Since he's going to land the warships, he is bound to have ground forces as well as an immense amount of ships."

"Would a nuke do anything?" Johnson asked.

"It may if they don't have shields." Cruz said.

I shook my head, "Don't even try it. Wolf's fighters would just destroy it before it reached its destination."

"So what do we do?" Falco asked.

"I say we take back America. Wolf has everything except Nevada." I explained, "If we take back the territories here, it'll give us good ground to launch an attack against the opposing countries."

Cruz's eyes grew wide, "That could actually work!" he looked over at me, "How old are you again?"

I smiled, "16, sir."

Johnson, Reyes, and Brooks all laughed.

I looked over in the direction of Woods and yelled for him, "Woods! Come over here."

Woods the stood up and walked over to us. He was still in his flight suit with all of its attachments still in place.

"Do we have a plan?" Woods asked when he reached us.

Reyes looked at Woods, "Yes, our first plan of attack is to start taking our territories back. Wolf has every state except Nevada."

Woods smiled, "Awesome, when do we head out?"

Brooks chuckled, "It'll be a bit before we can mobilize our remaining troops."

Suddenly, a worker that was passing by interrupted our conversation, "Actually sir, I overheard that Mexico and South America is ready for any plan created."

Johnson chuckled, "Well then, we better contact them and get them to start attacking any forces on our southern borders."

Fox then spoke, "While they do that…"

"Wait" Reyes said as he interrupted Fox, "Let's take this downstairs. That large display in the middle is loaded with a map of America with all the required data."

The eight of us then headed downstairs to the bottom level of the large war room. In the middle was a large table with a grid on it. Once we reached it, a large map of America appeared on it; many of the states were red, Nevada being the only blue state. Cruz gestured for us to circle around the table. When we got in position, he started to control the map with a computer in front of him.

"Okay, we have South America, Mexico, and Canada helping us. As we previously stated, we would handle any Earth forces while Star Fox handles Wolf's fighters." Cruz stated.

On the large map, large blue arrows emerged from Nevada. They stretched outward towards the east.

"If our troops can move east, we can take out any forces occupying Utah and Arizona we can plan for an attack in Idaho, then move into the west coast." Cruz explained.

The arrows moved along the path of attack. After an arrow passed a state, it turned blue. Four states were now colored blue. Soon, the entire west coast was blue.

"Once we have the west coast under our control once more, the ground troops will move east. Star Fox will do most of the attacking. If all of you are together, you should easily take a state and move to the next in no time at all. Your job is to get rid of the air forces for Canada, Mexico, and us."

Suddenly, green arrows came from Nevada and moved over the middle states. The arrows quickly moved over them; those states then became blue.

"We don't have much ground forces and we have NO air forces." Cruz explained.

"What about Canada and Mexico?" Falco asked, "Are they just gonna wait for us to take America?"

Cruz looked down at his computer, "No, Canada has a very good sized army. Their forces will be lined up all along their entire border. Once we give the command, they will move in and take back the northern states excluding Washington, and Idaho; we're handling them. Once they have the northern states, they will continue to move east, like we will."

Blue arrows then came from Canada; they were lined up along the Canadian border. They were stationary.

"When we attack our targets in the east, they will move in." Cruz continued.

"Mexico? What about them? Are they going to get Texas and New Mexico?" I asked.

Cruz went back to typing, "Yes, they will do exactly what Canada is doing; only they will go after Texas and New Mexico, just as you said, then they will head east."

"Okay, do the ground forces need our help in order to take Arizona and Utah?" Krystal asked.

Reyes spoke this time, "I think your team should fly through each state and take out any air forces. This will make it much easier for our ground forces."

Cruz didn't seem to agree, "We need them attacking the states to the east."

Reyes replied with argument, "They move out once we take the west coast, Utah and Arizona."

Johnson and Brooks both agreed with Reyes. "That's true, if they do a quick fly through of the target states, they can destroy any and all enemy hostiles in the air."

Cruz finally broke, "Fine, before the attack is commenced, Star Fox will fly through the states and take out enemy air forces. Once the ground troops mobilize, Star Fox will move to the states towards the east, take out any air forces, and come back to provide extra cover. Once we reach our first target, Canada and Mexico will move in to assist."

"Canada and Mexico have air forces, right?" Falco asked.

"Yes, they will cover their own forces, just as you will cover ours during the attack." Cruz replied.

Fox cleared his throat, "So, the plan goes: We will go through Arizona, Utah, and the west coast to take out any air forces. Once we do that, our ground troops will move in to take the states, and my team will head east to remove any hostile air forces. Once the hostile air forces are gone, Canada and Mexico will start their attack on their designated states. When they finish their job, they will continue east with cover by their own air forces given the possibility my team misses any ships. When my team finishes all the air forces in the east states, we will head back and meet the ground forces in Arizona and provide air support. This is correct?"

Cruz nodded, "Yes, sounds like a full proof plan."

"Except for one small detail." I said.

Cruz looked up at me, "What's that?"

I chuckled, "Um, I don't have a ship. Neither does Woods." I said as I pointed to Woods, whom was next to me.

Reyes smiled, "Don't worry, we have accommodated for the two of you to use specially modified F-22 Raptors."

"Specially modified?" Woods asked.

"Yes, we used the tech Slippy so gladly provided us when you first arrived. We were able to greatly upgrade several F-22s. Kevin shouldn't have an issue with systems since the mechanics mimic that of an Arwing, though he may have some problems with control, but you'll get used to it quickly." Brooks explained, "Oh, and the fighters are equipped with G-Diffusers, so neither of you need a special flight suit. They are also equipped with dual shields."

Woods smiled, "Awesome, I don't need this gear anymore."

After a few minutes of silence, I spoke up at random. I realized something we missed, "What about South America?"

Brooks replied, "We are letting them handle their infestation their way. I only hope that they are successful."

I nodded, "Seems fair enough, but risky."

Cruz then suddenly spoke, "Okay, when our ground troops arrive, which should be in a matter of minutes, Star Fox will move out and take out all hostile aircraft."

Reyes then saluted the team, "Good luck"

We were all a little confused. We weren't of military; therefore we didn't need to be saluted. Nonetheless, we saluted back in respect. I shot my hand up and to my forehead, making the sign for saluting. The rest of the team did as well, except for Falco, whom did his a bit slow and sloppy.

"Dismissed" barked Cruz.

The team then headed back upstairs, I followed along. We headed outside and saw a small blue light over the base. It was Slippy. We were all glad to see that he was fine, but we were a bit mad with him since he took so long to get here, making us think the worst.

"Damn it Slippy; he's always worrying me." Fox said.

I just chuckled and shook my head slowly. "How are we gonna explain this whole plan to him?" I asked.

Fox looked up at the blue dot, "Simple, just tell him to follow our lead. We don't have much time to explain, so he'll just have to do play it by ear."

I nodded in agreement, "Alright"

I looked down at my communicator and contacted Slippy. After a minute, he answered.

"What's up, Kevin?" he said in a cheerful voice.

"A few things;…" I replied, "… one is that we have a new plan to not only take back America and decrease Wolf's forces, but also make great grounds for a grand attack against opposing countries."

Slippy replied with a cheer, "Awesome, so we thought through this one?"

I smiled, "Yes, we hope that it works out just as planned."

"What is it anyway?" He asked.

Fox walked over to me and answered for me, "You'll have to play it by ear. The plan is too long and complicated to explain, given the amount of time we have."

"Which is how long?" Slippy asked.

I looked over at the main entrance and saw a huge cloud of dust and dirt go through it. I looked carefully and saw several tanks and HUM V's.

"Now; we have to leave now." I said.

Fox then looked up as well, "Oh yeah; just stay in the air Slip. We'll meet you up there."

"Okay Fox, Slippy out." Slippy said as he cut the comm line.

I looked over at Krystal and Falco, whom were at their Arwings getting ready. "Hey, we're about to head out. Make sure you ready for anything to happen."

The two nodded at me. Fox then walked over to his Arwing and jumped into it. "Do you think we can pull this off?" I asked.

Fox just smiled, "With our way? Yes. With your government's way? I don't think so."

I smiled back, "So we're going to forget what they said about using their way and use our way instead?"

Fox nodded and smiled, "I'm not going to follow them after what had just happened to us."

Fox then closed the canopy to his Arwing and started his engines. I looked over at Woods. He was looking out at the small convoy that had just arrived.

"Is that all we have?" He asked.

I looked at the small cloud of dust that followed after the vehicles. "I don't think so. There were many battalions and squads that survived; our orders were to move out when the first arrived."

Woods just shrugged, "Let's hope"

I then looked around the hangar we were in, "Any idea where our jets our?"

Woods looked at me, "They're in hangar B. We are in Hangar A."

"Oh, well, let's get going. We need to get in the air as quickly as possible." I said as I headed out of the hangar.

Woods followed after me. "Over at that one." He said as he pointed to a hangar that was right next to the one we had just exited.

We both walked over to it. The large doors were closed to conceal the jets that were inside. There were three guards in front of the door leading into it. They were there to make sure no one entered with authorization.

"Halt" one of them said as they saw us approaching.

Woods then took lead and walked towards them, "We have authorization to enter. Our jets are actually waiting for us as we speak."

The guards looked at each other. "Show us identification, then you may enter if you have clearance."

I then walked up to them, "You do know that you three are keeping us from a mission that started several minutes ago, right?"

They shook their heads. "I'm Kevin Michelson of Star Fox. You weren't told who would be using the jets?"

They shook their heads again, "No, we weren't." one of the guards said.

"But, since you're in Star Fox, you have clearance. We were told that a Star Fox member would retrieve the jets." Another guard explained.

"Then please, open the door and the hangar doors as well." I said.

The guards then moved and ran over to the large hangar bay doors. They pressed a button that caused them to slide open slowly. Once they opened, Woods and I walked in and saw the two heavily modified F-22s.

"Holy shit" I said as my jaw dropped.

"Damn" Woods explained.

The F-22 Raptors were completely re-designed. Instead of the two engines in the back, there were two glowing twin plasma engines. Each glowed with a blue haze. The wings were also slightly longer and were adjustable, just like an Arwing. The cockpit canopy was smaller and had a blue tint to it. The body was re-designed entirely. Instead of the lack of opening from the body to the wings, the body was scaled down to be slim like an Arwing. It was a small change, but noticeable. Below the each wing were two laser canons, there was a total of four altogether. Both jets were also painted white with the Star Fox logo on each wing.

"I love what they did to these." Woods explained.

"No kidding, I've seen and F-22 before, these look so much different." I replied.

Without any further words, we both ran to one and climbed up the ladders that extended from the side of the cockpit. Once we entered the cockpit, we both closed our canopies. I looked over the HUD. It was slightly different from and Arwing, but there was still a screen, a holo display, and all the main components. The one thing that was different was the green HUD that reflected off of the canopy. It was the standard HUD that most pilots followed; I, however, was only going to use it for elevation, angle reading, and location.

"You ready?" I asked Woods over the comms.

"Yeah, this is surprisingly simple for me." He replied.

"Let's go" I said as I activated the twin engines and the major systems.

The jet started to move forward slowly. One of the guards then started to direct me to the tar mat. He had two glowing sticks. He did some weird hand signals. After I didn't do anything, he mimicked someone messing with the joystick. I then understood that what he was doing was for control check.

He moved his left hand up into the air and his right extended outward to his right. I then pressed the right petal to move the vertical stabilizers to the right; this simulated a turn with no banks. He then moved his hands up. I then pulled the joystick towards me. He then gave me a thumbs up.

I piloted the jet over to the beginning of the run way. Once I was in position, I pushed the throttle to the max. I quickly accelerated to the required speed to take off. Once the computer informed me of the speed, I pulled back on the stick and lifted off into the sky. I looked back and saw Woods start his takeoff.

"Guys, you might want to start heading out. Our jets can't stop completely like the Arwing can." I said over the comms.

"Okay, catch up to us then." Fox replied.

I looked and found Woods flying next to me towards the back.

"Woods, the team is heading out. Accelerate to top speed so we can catch up." I said.

The two of us accelerated to amazing speeds and quickly joined the formation that the team was in; Fox in the front, Krystal and Falco to the sides, Slippy by Krystal, me by Falco, and Woods in the back.

"You made it." Fox exclaimed.

"Yeah, I guess these things have much more speed than I expected." I said.

"Are they as fast as the Arwing?" Slippy asked.

"I guess" I replied.

"Cool, then lets head to our first target." Fox said as he quickly gained speed.

Krystal, Falco, and Slippy boosted after Fox. Woods and I activated our afterburners that worked with our boost to catch up quickly. Once we reached the team, we kept our afterburners on to keep up.

"We're about to enter airspace of Arizona. Get ready for anything to come up on us." I said as I looked at the radar.

About ten minutes passed until we made first contact. Several blips appeared on the radar; they were unknown aircraft.

"Incoming aircraft" I said loudly.

"All right Star Fox, get ready for battle." Fox said.

I activated the weapons systems and readied myself. Once we neared the large group of fighters, Fox gave the command.

"NOW!" He yelled.

The six of us then split up and flew after the group. They saw us and quickly dispersed.

"I set up a battle area on our radars. Make sure none of those ships leave it." Slippy said.

We all agreed and headed in all sorts of directions after the enemy fighters. I went for a small squad that stuck together after the larger group dispersed. I was quickly able to trail them. Once I did, I quickly opened fire on them. I was on extra high alert this time around; not only am I watching myself, but I'm also watching the enemy movements with high concentration. I was in a jet this time around; it may be highly upgraded, but the movements and maneuverability are still far less than that seen on a Lylat fighter.

As I opened fire, two of the four ships stopped suddenly. I quickly passed them because they had stopped completely. Once I passed them, I looked behind me and noticed that they started to trail me instead.

"Oh crap, I have two on tail guys. I need some help!" I said loudly.

I saw a light emit from behind me. I looked back and saw two explosions and an Arwing fly through the residue.

Falco's face came up on the HUD, "I got 'em." He said as he smirked. Whenever a team member spoke, their face cameras would activate and be transmitted to the rest of the team.

I looked back in front of me and took out the two fighters that were left. I looked around and found another squad. I banked towards them and accelerated to them. As I got half way, I was trailed by a lone fighter.

"Kevin, you have another on your tail!" Fox said.

"I got this little prick." I said.

I pulled on the stick in front of me and quickly climbed. I kept the stick in the position and looped around in a circle. I looked for the fighter that had trailed me while I was mid-loop. I found him and got out of the loop. I opened fire upon him, but he kept performing barrel rolls.

"Damn you" I yelled.

The enemy then quickly banked left. I was barely able to keep up with him. I tried to line up my sights with him, but he kept in his bank and flew in a constant circle, trying to evade my sights. After a second, I finally lined up perfectly. I opened fire and was shocked to see that he had immediately banked the other way.

"Damn, this thing isn't fast enough." I said.

Woods' face came up on the HUD, "Yeah, these fighters are too quick for the jets."

Fox's face replaced Woods', "Just keep trying. We'll get them eventually."

I banked towards the direction the enemy fighter went and locked onto him with a charged shot. Once the reticle was red and beeping, I released the trigger and sent a ball of green energy towards the fighter. The green light hit him and dissipated. The ship then shook and then blew up in a fiery explosion.

"Got him" I said.

Fox smiled, "Just a few more left"

I looked around and saw a lot of fighter left over, "You call that a few?"

Fox just chuckled, "There was a lot more a minute ago, so yeah."

I just shrugged and went after another squad that came into my view. Once I headed towards them, Krystal yelled.

"Argh, I have some enemies on my tail." She yelled.

I looked around but couldn't find her. I soon found an Arwing being chased by four fighters. I was the closest to her, so I stopped chasing my group and went after the group behind Krystal.

"I'm on my way." I said as I raced towards the fighters.

I successfully navigated behind the enemies and quickly opened fire on them. Each one of them went down quickly and with ease.

Krystal's face appeared, "Whew, thanks Kevin. They took my shields down a whole thirty percent."

Fox then appeared, "Do you think you can hold out for the rest of the mission?"

Krystal replied, "Don't worry, I'll be fine. They just got lucky, that's all."

I smiled and pulled the control stick to break off and head for a small group of fighters that I saw. I tailed them and shot each down quickly.

I looked at my radar and noticed that there were no red blips left. I looked around and noticed that there were only Arwings and a jet left over.

"We're done?" I asked.

Fox appeared, "What did I tell you?"

Falco replied, "Man, I was just getting warmed up."

"Good because we have a lot more to go." I said.

Slippy then spoke, "According to the long range scanner; there are no more enemy forces in this state. It looks like we took back Arizona."

"Great, let's head to our next destination." Fox said.

Slippy spoke, "I updated our radars. It should show the direction in which our next objective is."

I then looked up and saw the team forming up and heading towards the next state. They then accelerated to great speeds. Woods and I quickly followed after them and joined the formation as well.

"Keep an eye on your scanners. They should pick up any enemy signatures in Utah." Fox said.

I looked down at my radar and saw that we were crossing a thick blue line. I pressed a button to zoom out and noticed that it was the state line.

"We're entering Utah." I said.

I looked down at my panel and noticed a flashing light. I wondered what it was and pressed it. Once I pressed it, the canopy grew dark. After a second, a bar of light scanned over the canopy. At first it seemed to have done nothing, but then I noticed that names were over the Arwings. The canopy became a view finder type device. I was surprised to know that I hadn't realized this before, but nonetheless was glad to see that identifying ships would be easier.

"I'm reading enemy signatures on my radar." Slippy yelled.

I looked around and saw a small red dot on my canopy. It seemed as though it was far away.

"I see something." I said.

Fox agreed, "Yeah, I'm picking it up on radar as well."

"It's only a few fighters." Falco said as he chuckled.

"I'll go and take them out." I said.

Fox replied, "Make sure you do it quick. They may be patrolling for us."

I then pulled out of formation and accelerated towards the three ships. As I neared them, I readied a Smart Bomb. As I closed in on them, they started to accelerate at a slow pace. At this, I launched the bomb and quickly destroyed the three fighters.

"That was easy." I said.

Fox yelled, "Oh shit, radar is picking up a large group of fighters heading this way."

"We were too late. That group had already seen us." Krystal said.

"Damn" I said under my breath.

I headed in the direction of the enemy units. Since I was ahead of the team, I got an early peak at their size. It was a bit smaller than what we had just seen in Arizona.

"Don't worry, there aren't that many. I'm going to engage." I said.

I accelerated and opened fire on the small battalion. They quickly dispersed, except for a few ships. These ones kept their course towards me. At the last second, I pulled up and avoided being hit by the fighters.

"There are a few fighters that aren't moving. Keep an eye on them." I said.

Soon the team entered the vicinity and joined in on the battle. Slippy transmitted another battle area to our radars and then went to work.

Almost instantly, I was chased by a large group of fighters.

"Oh shit, I got a bunch on my tail. Help me!" I yelled.

The large group all opened fire on me. I tried to shake them, but only kept getting hit by their lasers. Every time I turned, I was hit by several lasers.

"Damn it, can someone help please?!" I yelled once more.

Fox replied, "I'm on my way."

"Could you hurry? My shields are down to 73 percent." I said.

Suddenly, I heard several explosions from behind me. I looked back and saw Fox firing relentlessly into the large group of fighters.

"Thanks Fox" I said.

"Don't worry about it. Just keep taking these guys out." He replied.

I jerked on the control stick and performed a loop to escape from the shocked enemy pilots. Once I exited the loop, I aimed for the remaining ships and opened fire. I took out three of the remaining five ships. Once they were destroyed, the last two split up in different directions.

"Whoa, they split!" I said.

"I got them." Fox said.

Both were quickly destroyed by both Fox and Krystal.

"I said 'I' had them." Fox said.

"Well you looked like you could use some help getting the other one." Krystal replied.

I laughed, "Can't argue with a woman Fox."

Woods laughed as well, "Yeah, good luck getting somewhere with it."

Suddenly, an alarm started to sound. I looked at my radar and noticed that one last red blip was approaching the end of the engaging zone.

"Whoa, we got a runner!" Slippy yelled.

I accelerated in the direction of the enemy and quickly caught up with him. Once I did, I opened fire on him and swiftly destroyed him.

"Got him" I said.

"Good, we have to keep going onto the west coast. I'm sure there will be a large amount of enemies all along the coast." Fox said.

Krystal chimed in, "He's right; I can sense the faint thought patterns of many people."

"You can sense stuff from this far?" Falco asked.

I spoke up, "Further, actually. She was able to connect mine and my mother's thought patterns so we could speak one last time."

"When was this?" Fox asked.

"The day I joined Star Fox." I replied. "We were pretty far from Earth when I spoke with her."

I looked down and realized that she may be hurt, or worse.

"Oh shit" I said very quietly.

Krystal spoke up, "Kevin, don't worry about your mother. She's perfectly safe. I remember her thought pattern type; I sense that she is safe with the President in an underground shelter."

I was surprised to hear that, "The president?"

Fox chuckled, "When you told your mom that you were okay on TV that day we arrived, the president may have sent for people to get her to safety."

I smiled, "Thank God"

"Let's get going to the west coast." Fox then said.

We all accelerated in the direction of Washington. Scanners indicated that a large enemy concentration was near the shore line, meaning that they had recently arrived.

"Looks like we have a great number of hostiles near the coast." Fox said, "You all ready?"

I looked down and took a few deep breaths. I was already getting tired of this fighting. I was exhausted from keeping my attention on high and always making split second decisions. I was just tired even though we were only fighting for a few hours.

"Ready" I said.

"Let's go" Falco replied.

"Let's end these freaks." Woods said.

"I'm ready" Krystal said.

"Battle area transmitted. Let's do this." Slippy said.

We all then accelerated to even faster speeds. We were close to taking back America from Wolf.

_To Be Continued…_

_O…M…G. I took FOREVER on this one. I apologize for making you all wait for it, I had finals one week then spring break the next week. On top of that, sports. Don't think that I have no free time; I actually have a lot more than you may think, so the story is unharmed from my schedule. _

_So what did you think? Probably my best fight scenes with first person. But I want to hear from you all: How was it? Review your thoughts, every little bit helps! _

_I have a bit of surprise in the next chapter. Some of you may not have noticed it yet. You'll see next chapter. _

_Until next time…_


	5. Chapter 5: Issues

_Not much to say right now. Thanks to those that review, they really keep me going. And also more of the store is going into more depth. You'll see what I mean. _

_On with the story…_

**Chapter 5: Issues**

Right after we sent Star Fox on the mission, we went to the planning area we had used to brief them. The first thing that came from any of our mouths was the fact of trusting these so called allies. I for one had no trouble trusting them; however Cruz, Brooks, and Johnson had a great amount of trouble with trust.

As I approached the large table, Cruz spoke, "I really am having trouble with these guys."

"No kidding" Johnson replied.

I sighed, "I don't see what your problem is with this team. For Christ sake, one of them is human!"

Brooks lowered his head, "That's true, but keep in mind that the rest of the team are the same species as Wolf."

Cruz spoke up, "Not only that, but he has similar technology as them. Wolf is just a mercenary, just like Star Fox. Last I checked; mercs have crappy technology and shitty arsenals."

I sighed once more, "If they were with Wolf, don't you think they would have killed Kevin? Wouldn't they be fighting us instead of Wolf?"

Cruz replied with a question, "What if they're spies? What if they're playing the part so that they could turn on us?"

I slammed my fist on the table, "Damn it Cruz; you're always like this. Every time we sent our troops out, you would question EVERYTHING."

Cruz's voice was stern, "That's because I look out for our troops. If I didn't question everything then we would send our troops on a blind mission."

"Cruz is right; take the other countries for example. We sent this team there to help them; they were almost killed because of us not questioning our strategy." Johnson exclaimed. "We have to question every detail to ensure we don't fail."

I was getting annoyed, "Look, you're all right, but they are helping us. We have to take this help otherwise we would be destroyed in no time."

We all stayed silent for a minute. Apparently what I said made them re think their opinions on the team.

"This is why I have trouble trusting them. They help us one second, then destroy us the next." Cruz quietly stated.

I sighed softly, "I know we should question details, but this time is different. We are facing and enemy that is far more advanced as us; given our situation, spy or not, this team is helping us. We need to take it and risk our chances."

Johnson shook his head, "Keep trying, Reyes, you won't change my mind. They will change it, if they end up ending this war."

"Whatever" I said quietly.

"Looks like Reyes is getting his hopes up, as usual." Brooks quietly said.

I looked at Brooks, "Shut the hell up, Commander. Your decisions haven't been any good either, so I would seriously consider shutting your trap before I shut it for you."

"Lock it down, that's an order!" Cruz yelled.

I slowly looked back at Cruz, "Yes sir" I quietly stated.

"I can't hear you General." Cruz said in a stern and quiet voice.

I sighed quietly then cleared my throat, "YES SIR COMMANDING GENERAL!" I said loudly.

Cruz just looked at me. I wasn't going to show him the proper respect, even if he was a higher rank than me.

Johnson and Brooks stayed quiet. They didn't want to get in the fight as well.

I looked down at the table, it showed a zoomed in perspective of Arizona. There were six blue arrows traveling in a single direction. The table displayed them in a 3D model perspective. Radar data was used to make a larger 3D model of Arizona, the table would pan along with the dots as if it were a camera following them.

"Do we have comms with them?" I asked.

"No, the enemy units there are jamming all long range communications. We have no way of contacting them, all we can do is hope they don't mess up." Cruz stated.

I looked down at the display and watched the blue arrows carefully. I prayed that none of them would disappear.

"What's that?" Johnson asked as he pointed to a large red ring that appeared out of nowhere.

"Slippy said that he would set up battle zones. This must be the first." Cruz said.

Johnson pointed, "Enemy units"

Anything that the radar picked up as unknown would be marked as either hostile or neutral, given the threat level that the radar receives after scanning.

After a few minutes of watching the blue arrows fly around the 3D display chasing after the numerous red arrows, I noticed that one of the blue arrows was being tailed by another blue arrow.

"Hey, why is that one chasing him?" Johnson asked.

I feared the worst at this point. We couldn't tell who was which arrow, so I only feared that the one being chased was Kevin.

"Is that one… trying to shoot down the other?" Brooks asked.

The front blue arrow maneuvered around like it was crazy. The other had trouble but still kept course.

"Oh god… That must be Kevin." Johnson exclaimed.

"What? Don't be ridiculous!" I yelled.

The tension in the room only grew from there on out.

"I knew it! This team was just playing the part!" Cruz yelled.

I was getting a bit frightened. Maybe the others were right about Star Fox.

"Damn it, it looks like it has its sights on the other." Johnson exclaimed.

"Do we have anything that can help?" Cruz yelled.

Several men started to transition on getting him an answer. After a minute, they revealed that they could launch an offensive missile attack from a nearby satellite that was in range.

"Sir, radar indicates that two satellites, both carrying hellfire missiles, are in range." One of the workers replied.

Suddenly, a miracle seemed to appear. Out of nowhere, four red arrows appeared in between the two blue arrows. The back arrow was only destroying the enemies chasing the other arrow.

"Oh thank god" I said as I sighed.

The rest sighed as well. "Must've been a glitch in the radar." Brooks stated.

Cruz seemed more mad than relieved. I looked at him and saw disgust on his face. He was one of those people that would keep their opinion, no matter what you told them or what proof you presented.

I looked back at the display; it was clean of any red arrows. The blue arrows then formed up and accelerated towards Washington's coast. It only took them a few seconds.

"Only a small squad of hostile forces here." I said.

Cruz just nodded while he looked at the display.

"It looks like our plan is going smoother than expected." Johnson stated.

Almost immediately, another battle zone appeared. At the same time, the blue arrows quickly moved in and seamlessly destroyed the only troops in Washington.

"Holy crap that was fast. Do we have Washington now?" I asked.

"Seems like it." Brooks said as he smiled.

The arrows then turned towards Oregon. At this, I looked up at Cruz to see if his expression had changed. Instead, I saw that he had disappeared. I pondered on the thought of where he had disappeared to.

"Keep an eye on this; I'll be right back." I said as I walked away from the display.

I walked up the steps and onto the second floor catwalk. I walked around and looked for Cruz, but I only saw the numerous works walking to a fro.

I stopped one of the workers, "Where's commanding General Cruz?"

"Cruz? He said something about doing something that needed to be done. He seemed pretty serious about it." The worker told me.

"Oh crap" I thought to myself.

I then went back downstairs in a calm manner. Once I reached it, I walked over to the person in charge of our orbital weapons. I assumed that Cruz was accompanying him.

"I'm ordering you to fire on this location." A voice told a worker.

The voice seemed worried, "Sir, our team is within the explosive vicinity. They would likely be destroyed. It's basically a stab to our own backs!"

Cruz seemed irritated, "I'm giving a direct order to fire the missile!"

Since the worker could not argue, he did as Cruz said, "Fine, but anything that happened from here on out is one you, sir."

I turned the corner quickly and saw the worker type the codes in.

"STOP!" I yelled.

However, it was too late; he had already initiated the firing sequence.

"YOU MANIAC! WHAT THE FUCK HAVE YOU DONE!?" I yelled.

Everyone then stared at me. Johnson and Brooks ran over to where I was.

"What the hell is going on?" Brooks asked.

"I fired a missile at the team. They are spies and cannot be trusted!" Cruz said in a loud voice.

"You what?!" Brooks yelled.

Johnsons eyes grew wide, "Cruz, there's a human with them! They aren't spies; Kevin wouldn't turn on his own kind!"

At this, Cruz pulled out a pistol from his jacket and pointed it at us.

"It's too late anyway. What's done is done." Cruz said.

He looked over at the closest door and then looked back at us.

"This country is going to shit anyway. So why not?" He said.

I looked at him at him and saw a flash emit from the barrel of the small colt pistol. The next thing I noticed was an immense pain come from my side and from my leg. After that I fell to the ground and saw blood gush from the two wounds.

"Get him!" I heard Brooks yell.

Out of my blurry vision, I saw Cruz run for the door that he had previously looked at. After that, everything went black.

_Kevin's Point of View_

_After we quickly regained control of Washington, we headed for Oregon. We estimated that only a few squads of enemies would be there; we were right. Long distance radars indicated that there three squads of fighters. Once we entered the airspace of Oregon, we readied for any surprises. _

"Does Wolf even care about controlling this country?" Falco asked.

"I'm not really sure. It seems like it though." I replied.

Fox chimed in, "He probably has so little troops that he can't spread them out safely enough."

After a minute of silence, Slippy spoke.

"Enemy signatures coming from up ahead. I'm setting the battle zone now." He said quickly.

"Get read Star Fox." Fox replied.

As we neared the enemy squad, they mobilized into attack position. There were about twenty enemy fighters in this squad.

"Team Star Fox… Attack!" Fox yelled.

We all then split and went after out targets. I instantly tailed a group of five enemies. They were skilled, but were not skilled enough. After I destroyed the first three, the last one started to maneuver insanely. The pilot barrel rolled towards the right then performed a loop; however I kept on his tail. Once he exited the loop, he was left open for an easy kill. I opened fire and quickly destroyed the lone fighter.

"I got my group!" I said.

"Keep going, we're almost done." Fox replied.

Suddenly, Slippy asked his favorite favor, "Ah, I'm being chased! Can anyone get them off of me?"

Since I had nothing to do, I looked for Slippy and quickly found him. I easily destroyed the non-expecting fighters. I loved the element of surprise because it was easy to complete your objective.

"Thanks Kev, I owe you one." Slippy said with a relieved voice.

After a few minutes of fighting, we finished off the last of the enemy units in that part of Oregon. I was surprised to see how long it took us to destroy these set of enemy fighters. They must have been elite pilots.

"Okay, let's head to the next squad." Fox said.

Krystal suddenly spoke, "Wait, I'm sensing that both remaining squads are converging on our location. There are an immense number of them!"

"That doesn't sound good." Falco said.

"Oh no… I sense even more troops approaching from the west. Wolf is sending huge amounts of troops at us!" Krystal then said.

"Damn, looks like he finally is showing us how much he's pissed off at us." Fox said.

Woods spoke after being quiet for a long time, "Can we take them?" he asked.

Fox remained quiet for a second. So did everyone else.

"I have a feeling that we can do this." I finally said.

Krystal agreed, "Me too, I have a feeling that we have the upper hand."

Fox then sided with both of us, "Fine, but be ready for anything. He could be sending ships with Novas."

After a minute of sitting still, we saw the first wave of enemies.

"Here they come!" I yelled.

This squad was small because it was the remainder of what was left in Oregon. Once they neared us, we sped towards them and engaged.

I looked at this one fighter and chased after him. After a second of chasing, I was then chased by two enemy pilots.

"I have two on my tail!" I said.

"Do I have to get you out of trouble again?" Falco said sarcastically.

I was a bit annoyed, "Falco, just get these guys off of me!"

"Jeez, alright; I'm just having a little fun." He said.

Fox sighed, "This is no time to mess around, Falco. We're about to engage a huge amount of enemies. Pay attention."

Falco sighed and quickly destroyed the two ships that were behind me. Once they were destroyed, I focused on the one pilot that I had been barely following. It was easy to get him in my sights, but he kept moving, causing me to miss most of the time.

"Hold still you little freak!" I yelled.

I then opened a barrage of fire onto the enemy. In a few seconds his shields went down and his wings were in flames. He was losing control of his fighter, giving me the chance to destroy him. I fired the last shots and took him down.

"Incoming final wave; its huge!" Slippy yelled.

"Oh no, already?" Fox asked.

I looked at my radar and noticed the huge amount of blips. "We're not done yet. They're getting close!"

"Keep going, we can do this." Krystal assured us.

In only a few seconds, an enormous amount of enemy ships entered the battle zone. They were within combat range.

"I see them!" I yelled as I looked out to my left. I could see the enemies in the distance.

Suddenly, several alarms started to blare inside of the cockpit.

"Whoa…whoa… what the hell is happening?" I yelled.

"What is it?" Fox asked.

I started to search the database to find the issue, "I have no idea. Alarms just started to sound. I can't stop them."

I looked at my radar and noticed that the readings were off the scale. My heart dropped when I saw it.

"Oh…shit!" I yelled.

Slippy spoke, "That sounds bad."

I initiated a scan of where the reading came from. At the same time I had to focus on not getting shot down from the huge amount of enemy units.

Only a second passed when the scan was complete.

A computer voice spoke, "Unidentified nuclear element. Scans indicate that its signatures are of American hands."

"No…" I quietly said.

"Further analysis indicates that this nuclear device contains uranium, and chemical substances. If detonated, area of effect would be approximately two hundred and twenty five miles. I advise that you evacuate at maximum velocity immediately." The computer continued.

"Holy shit! They launched a nuke at us!" I yelled.

"WHAT!?" The team yelled in sync.

"It's a nuke that's bigger than a Nova!" I yelled again.

Fox was the first to speak, "Everyone, emergency maneuvers! Get out of there NOW!"

I pulled off and pushed the throttle to the max. "I'm sending you all the data for the area this thing will cover."

I sent the data to everyone, the first to reply was Slippy, "A hydrogen bomb!?" he yelled.

"It doesn't matter what it is. They launched a M.O.A.B! Its radius is greater because of it being an air burst!" I yelled.

"Two hundred miles!?" Falco yelled.

"Just shut up and get out of the radius!" I yelled.

After a few seconds, I heard nothing. From behind me, I saw an extremely bright light emit. I didn't want to look back. Once the light came, more alarms blared. Then I heard the deafening boom that the bomb emitted.

"Warning, temperature rising above standards!" The computer said.

I was scared, "The bomb is burning my jet!"

"Same here, it can't take much of it!" Woods yelled back.

Suddenly, my jet was wiped out of the sky and was sent spinning out of control. The shockwave hit me hard.

"ARGH, IT GOT ME!" I yelled.

"IM LOSING CONTROL!" Woods yelled.

"NO!" Fox yelled with furry.

"KEVIN, WOODS!" Falco yelled.

"GET BACK IN CONTROL!" Krystal yelled.

As I spun out of control, I caught a few glimpses of the enormous mushroom cloud that the bomb created. I was absolutely shocked to see what they had done.

"Almost got it." I said as I tried immensely to regain control.

Woods voice came over the comm, "I got it!"

"COME ON, COME ON!" I yelled. I was falling to the ground quickly. I started to see that it was hopeless; I was quickly approaching the ground.

"WARNING, WARNING; APPROACHING GROUND LEVEL, EJECT IMMEDIATELY!" The computer yelled in a higher tone.

"ARGH!" I yelled loudly.

_To be continued…_

_I have very little to say, except for you to enjoy the cliffhanger. ;-)_

_That's basically all I have to say. _

_Until next time…_


	6. Chapter 6: The Traitor?

_I'm gonna keep this short…. Enjoy the next chapter __ (I said I was gonna make it short). This chapter is also a bit short. _

**Chapter 6: The Traitor?**

"ARGH!" I yelled as my jet was suddenly wiped out of the sky. "I'M GOING DOWN!"

I was spinning around uncontrollably and was having a hard time even remotely getting a hold onto the craft. I tried to use the stabilizers, but they weren't able to stop the spinning in the conventional tech grade jet.

"COME ON!" I yelled as I struggled with the controls.

I kept jerking the control stick in multiple directions to get me to slow the spinning. I also pressed the petals to try and stop the horizontal spinning. As I was doing this, I noticed how close I was getting to the ground. It was approaching faster than I had expected.

"SHIT!" I yelled. "I'M GONNA HIT THE GROUND!"

"Kevin, EJECT!" Fox yelled at me.

At this, I reached down to the ejection lever. I pulled as hard as I could, but was unsuccessful. It was jammed and would not move a single inch.

"You've got to be FUCKING KIDDING ME!" I yelled in frustration, "IT'S STUCK!" I went back to trying to regain control.

"Kevin, set your G-Diffusers for atmospheric entrance. The added resistance should stabilize the jet!" Slippy quickly yelled.

I immediately did as he said. I set the G-Diffusers to maximum resistance and hoped for the best. I noticed that the spinning did slow down a bit, but was still aggressive.

"Almost got it!" I said with hope building up in me.

I was nearing the ground quickly.

"WARNING… WARNING: APPROACHING GROUND LEVEL, EJECT IMMEDIATELY!" The computer yelled.

I thought to myself about how much I would like to eject.

"WARNING: ALTITUDE 2,000 FEET" The computer yelled.

I jerked the control stick once more. It did little.

"COME ON!" I yelled.

I looked at the elevation meter, it read 1,000 feet now.

At this point, I stopped the horizontal spinning. I needed the vertical spinning to stop now.

I looked at the meter: 800, 700, 600, 500; the numbers just kept going down. I was starting to get frightened.

"NO!" yelled Krystal.

"KEVIN!" Fox yelled.

Slippy and Falco stayed quiet.

I then resorted to the final call of action. I rerouted the power from my shields, radar, comms, and even the HUD to the G-Diffusers. This would give them an incredible boost to their existing power.

"…come on" I said quietly.

Then, a miracle occurred. My jet stopped its ruthless spinning and I started to fly forward in the direction I stopped in. It was as if my guardian angel was with me; my dad.

I let out a huge sigh of relief, "oh my god… that was close"

After a second, I took back the power and rerouted it back to its original places. I had the comms, radar, shields, and HUD.

"Wha-… Kevin?" I heard Fox say.

Krystal sighed in relief, "I knew you were alive." She said as she let her breath out.

"I'm lucky to be here still." I said. I looked up at the sky, "Thanks dad"

Woods spoke up, "I knew you would get it under control."

I smiled and looked around, my jet stopped spinning in the direction of the large mushroom cloud; I was flying towards it.

"Damn, this thing was huge." I said.

Woods chuckled, "Well, it is a hydrogen bomb with Uranium. That thing is scary huge."

I banked right and pulled towards the direction and headed back to the base.

"What are we going to do about the Generals?" I asked.

Fox was quick with his answer, "We go in and find out what the hell happened. Bring a weapon just in case things get dicey. I don't want them killing us and winning."

I looked down at my leg; it had my D-40 pistol still in its compartment. I gripped the controls tightly; I was nervous about this plan. Not only am I now fighting the only country that seemed to be with us, but also my HOME country. That part just turned my stomach.

"Wolf is going to die. And I'll be the one to do it!" I said to myself.

"What was that, Kevin?" Krystal asked.

I looked up, "Huh? Oh… nothing."

I pushed the throttle to max and accelerated in the direction of the base. In a minute, I reached the airspace of the seemingly abandoned Area 51.

"I made it to the base; anyone else nearby?" I asked.

Everyone replied with a yes. I looked around and noticed them flying in a group out in the distance.

"I see you. I'm landing and heading in." I said.

Fox replied, "Be careful."

Krystal spoke as well, "Yes, I sense hostility inside the main building."

I looked at the landing strip and scanned it for anything suspicious; the scans came back clean. At this, I activated the landing gear and slowed to a very slow speed. I hit the ground and skid to a stop near the main building. I then drove the jet closer to the entrance of the building, just in case I needed to leave in a hurry.

As I stopped, I noticed how empty the outside was. Usually, there would be some people taking things to and fro, but it was quiet. Once the jet stopped completely, I shut down the systems and engines and released the canopy. I was on high alert, my shield on my armor was malfunctioning, my helmet wouldn't work, and my wrist communicator wasn't operating correctly either.

"This is Kevin, can you guys here me?" I asked over my wrist communicator.

"This is Fox; I hear you loud and clear." Fox replied.

This meant that the comms worked at this distance. "Okay, I may lose you guys while inside. I'll try to see what's up and make sure it's not a trap."

"Why would you lose us?" Slippy asked.

"Ah, speaking of that, I need you to repair a few things for me Slip: my shields, helmet mechanism, wrist communicator, and basic mechanisms for the compartments. They were all damaged when I crashed in Alabama." I explained.

"Damn Kev, you messed that much stuff up?" Slippy asked as he sighed.

I just chuckled to myself and looked at the building. I slowly jumped out of my jet. I hit the ground a bit hard and landed on one knee with a hand to keep me from falling. I slowly looked up and saw nothing but the entrance of the building. I got up and reached down to my side. The compartment then extended out and revealed my pistol; I grabbed it and drew out in front of me.

"I'm heading in." I said.

I ran towards the entrance with careful attention. Once I reached the door, I looked through the glass and saw nothing. There was no person at the desk, the chairs were tipped over, and the computers were even tipped. I slowly opened the door and quickly looked around.

"Where the hell is everyone?" I thought to myself.

"Maybe they're waiting for you. Be careful." I heard Krystal say in my head. This obviously caught me by surprise.

I headed for the door that led to the room with the elevator. I opened it carefully and saw another abandoned room. I was getting a bit confused and worried; maybe they were in hiding and waiting for us to arrive. I walked into the room and headed for the elevator. I reached it and entered the code I saw Johnson input when we first arrived. It took me downwards.

I looked down at my pistol and checked the charge it had. It was at 73%; enough to get me out of a sticky situation. It wasn't ideal, but it was enough. As the elevator slowed down, I lifted my pistol out in front of me and towards the door.

"I'm in" I said.

"Good… please be careful Kevin." Fox said.

"I will" I replied.

The elevator door then opened and revealed the war room.

Johnson was standing and facing the other direction towards the large screen along with Brooks. He didn't notice the elevator door open, so I slowly exited the elevator with my pistol still drawn; it was pointed at Johnson. As I neared Johnson, I put my finger on the trigger. It wasn't until the barrel touched the back of his head that he gasped.

Brooks looked over at me quickly, "Kevin?!"

Out of fear, I quickly swung the pistol at him and hit him directly across the face. He fell down to the ground.

"Shut the hell up!" I yelled.

I turned my attention back at Johnson, whose hands were now in the air.

"What… the FUCK… is wrong with you?!" I said slowly. "You try to nuke us?"

Johnson slowly shook his head. I thought he was lying.

"I don't believe you." I said slowly.

Johnson was breathing heavily, "Look, it wasn't us. Cruz…"

"What about him?" I interrupted.

"…he ordered the orbital strike officer to fire upon you. Cruz doesn't trust you guys at all; since he's the Commanding General… anything he says goes." Johnson continued.

Brooks then got up, "Kevin, just put…the gun… down." He said in a clam voice.

I looked at Brooks, "You're lucky I'm the only one here. If Fox or Falco were here, they would have wasted you all in a second; no questions asked."

"Look, this whole thing was Cruz's fault. He was the one that went behind all of our backs and did this." Brooks explained.

I looked at Brooks, "Where is Cruz now?"

Brooks just shrugged, "We're not sure. He shot Reyes tice and ran out of the bottom door; it leads into a series of underground tunnels. He could be anywhere."

I thought for a second, "Did you send a search party?"

Johnson answered, "Yes… we… sent them when he escaped."

Even with what they were saying, I was still not convinced about their innocence. I needed a little extra help.

"Krystal? Can you hear me?" I asked.

She immediately replied, "Yes? What's wrong?"

"Come down here, I need a little help." I replied. "Your ability is needed to determine whether or not they're innocent. They're not convincing me at all."

Krystal sounded confused, "Okay"

In a few minutes, Krystal arrived in the war room. She gasped when she saw me pointing the gun at Johnson.

"What's going on?" She asked.

Brooks spoke, "The attack on you wa-…"

"Shut it!" I said harshly. "They say it wasn't them. The nuke wasn't launched under their control. I don't believe them one bit.

Krystal put her hands on her hips, "I wouldn't believe them either."

I chuckled, "Look Krys, can you scan their minds for the truth?"

Krystal replied cheerfully, "Of course I can."

I then slowly moved away from Johnson with my pistol still pointing at him. Krystal walked up to him and spun him around so that he was facing her. With my pistol at the ready for anything sudden, I watched as Krystal closed her eyes and bowed her head.

"Don't even move, or I'll waste you right here and now." I said.

After a minute, she opened her eyes and looked at me.

"They're not lying. Brooks was telling the truth. Apparently, Cruz left and had the man in charge of the weapon fire in our vicinity. Brooks, Johnson, and Reyes had no idea of it. Once they found out, they confronted him; this led to Reyes being shot." She explained.

I sighed with relief and lowered my pistol, "Now I believe you guys." I said, "Fox, we have a traitor on our hands."

"What?!" He replied.

"Yes, General Cruz was the one that ordered the attack on us. They're searching for him as we speak." I explained.

"So, we're still allies? We're still fighting the same thing?" He asked.

"Yes, Fox" I replied. I then cut the transmission.

"Told you" Brooks said.

"How is Reyes? Is he fine? I asked.

"The wounds he sustained are not fatal. He should be fine." Johnson explained.

I sighed, "Good, Reyes is a good man. He didn't deserve what he went through."

Johnson and Brooks nodded their heads in agreement.

I looked at Krystal, "Thanks Krys, I would have probably wasted these guys if you hadn't had your power."

"It's nothing." She said, "So what do we do about Cruz?" She asked.

Johnson replied quickly, "Simple, find him and kill him."

My eyes grew wide at this. It was such a sudden plan; no complications, no order of operations, just find him and kill him.

"Not very detailed" I said.

Johnson shrugged, "He's the least of our worries right now, so a simple plan is all that is needed to remove him from our problems."

Brooks spoke up, "You mind contacting the team? They'll need to hear the progress of the mission."

"Oh, sure" I said as I started a comm line with the entire team.

"Fox here" a voice said.

"Listen to Brooks; he has the status of our mission." I said.

Brooks nodded, "Thank you..." he said, "Once the nuke was dropped, every remaining unit was either destroyed or fled the area immediately; radar was working perfectly even when this happened. We have control of California and the rest of the west coast."

"Awesome, Cruz ended up helping us a bit." I said.

Brooks nodded, "A search party, fully armed, is currently searching for Cruz; they have orders to fire on sight of him. Aside from that, Mexico and Canada have initiated their attack. Once you took Arizona, they started, so far we have New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Montana, Wyoming, the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan, and Illinois. They are currently standing by for Colorado, Kansas, and Missouri to be taken by you." He explained.

"So we can have the last hurrah on the east coast with an immense army." I said.

"Exactly, it'll give us an even better chance of succeeding." Brooks said.

Johnson spoke up, "Since they're standing by as we speak, I suggest you all take those last few states and meet with the forces."

Krystal nodded, "Of course, we can't let them wait forever, now can we?"

I agreed, "Let's go. Fox; Krystal and I will meet you all there. Start heading there now."

"We already left" Fox replied.

"Oh... well then." I said.

Krystal headed for the elevator, "Let's get going, Kevin."

Just then, doors were heard bursting open. I looked over my shoulder to look for the door. It ended up being the bottom one that Cruz had fled through.

"They got him!" Brooks said as he ran over the edge of the catwalk. Krystal and I joined him. I saw Cruz flailing around in the arms of two soldiers.

"Wow, and to think I trusted him at a point." I said as I looked at the once ally.

Brooks headed down to the group of people that surrounded the soldiers and Cruz.

"So, I believe you know the punishment for doing such a thing on a scale like this." I heard Brooks say as he made his way down to the group.

"Let's go, I have a feeling that this is going to get dirty." I said to Krystal.

The two of us then headed for the elevator. We called it down and entered the small room. As soon as the elevator doors closed, I heard a loud noise emit from the other side of the elevator doors; a gunshot. I assumed that they had killed Cruz. He was dead, which meant we would have no more problems from here on out.

"Well, we don't have to worry about sudden surprises anymore." I said to Krystal.

"That's true; I just can't believe he would do such a thing like that. He made this whole entire plan of attack, did he not?" She asked.

"He did, he must have just lost the trust he had. I wouldn't blame him though; you guys are the same species as Wolf, not to mention you both are from the same system." I explained.

Krystal nodded, "I understand his concerns as well, I still can't over the fact that he ended up with using nuclear weapons on us!"

I shrugged, "Some people are just that crazy."

Suddenly, the elevator stopped and the doors slid open. The two of us then walked out and headed for the doors. I stopped.

"Hey Krystal" I said as she walked.

"Yes?" She said as she turned around. She had a puzzled look on her face.

I looked down, "Do you still… remember the brain patterns of my mother?" I asked.

Krystal smiled, "Of course I do"

I sighed, "Do you mind if you search and see if she's okay?" I asked as I looked back up.

She smiled, "I don't mind at all."

Krystal closed her eyes for a minute. She opened them and smiled again at me. "She is fine. Like I said earlier, she is with the President in a deep underground bunker."

I sighed in relief, "Thank you"

Krystal then walked towards me, "You're welcome" She then extended her arms and hugged me. I embraced it and returned the favor.

"I understand what you're going through." She said, "Whenever you need anything, just ask me, okay?"

I replied softly, "Okay"

She released me and looked at the door, "We should get going."

"Agreed" I said as I nodded my head.

"Kevin, can you hear me?" I heard Brooks say over the comms.

"Loud and clear" I replied.

He coughed, "Cruz has been executed. Also, we have a few more missiles left in reserve; we came up with a plan that will end this a lot faster." He explained.

"Go on" I said.

Brooks cleared his throat, "Well, you are all going through the center of America. We can launch the remaining nukes in those states to either kill any forces or scare them off for good."

I smiled at this, "That's a great plan!" I said, "Let me clear it with Fox though."

Krystal smiled as well, "That really would help us out a lot."

I called up Fox, "Fox, this is Kevin. I have an update you may want to hear." I said as I smiled.

"Go ahead" Fox replied.

"Brooks wants to nuke the remaining states so that we can go straight to the waiting troops." I explained.

"Huh" Fox said in a high tone, "That's a good idea. Have them do it."

"Awesome" I set the comms to Brooks, "We have the okay!"

Brooks sounded happy, "Great" a second of silence emerged, after the second passed, I heard Brooks in the background, "Fire the missiles in the given locations immediately."

Brooks came back to the communicator, "Missiles away, stay away from the states until the explosion and debris is cleared."

"Roger that" I replied. "Let's go, Krys" I said as the two of us then started to run for the door.

Krystal headed for her Arwing while I jumped up into my jet. I drove the jet to one end of the long runway and pushed the throttle to the max. I sped down the runway and quickly lifted up off of the ground and into the air.

Once I was airborne, I flew by Krystal and followed her to our next location. We both accelerated to incredible speeds and quickly re-grouped with the rest of the team.

"What took ya so long?" Falco asked.

I laughed, "Just nuking the last three states."

Slippy sounded surprised, "What?!"

Fox laughed as well, "They had a few nukes left, since they have no use on the main bases over in Europe and such, they might as well use them to finish taking America."

Falco laughed, "Finally, we get some ground on these freaks!"

I was flying around the team in a large circle. My stabilizers were damaged during the nuke blast, so I couldn't come to a complete stop; instead I just circled the team repeatedly until we moved out again.

"What happened to Cruz?" Woods asked.

I looked over at the formation the team was in, "They found him… and killed him."

It grew silent for a bit. Falco then broke the silence.

"Damn" Falco said, "That's a bit cold."

I sighed, "What would you have done if you had a gun, stood next to the one responsible for your near death, and knew for a fact that it was him?"

Falco chuckled, "Alright, you got me: I'd kill him on the spot."

"Thank you" I said.

Fox spoke up, "So Cruz is dead, and who's in charge now?"

I pondered the question, "Hmm… I believe Reyes is, but he's in the medical bay due to gunshot wounds inflicted to him by Cruz. I think Johnson has temporary control."

"Kev, is your armor still malfunctioning?" Slippy asked out of nowhere.

"Um… I think so. My wrist communicator is still unable to make long distance comm lines, my helmet is still jammed, the shield is also not running at top performance." I relayed.

Slippy sighed, "That's quite a few things I have to fix. Exactly how did this happen?" he asked.

I cleared my throat, "Back in Alabama, Woods and I were escaping the enemy fleet that had ambushed my squad. Everyone was killed except for Woods, I, and a rookie named Blaze. While we were fleeing, the three of us were tailed by the remaining fleet that Wolf sent. Blaze sacrificed himself to save Woods and I by making the enemy units go after him instead."

At this, I heard Fox say something softly, "…just like wolf…" he then sighed slightly.

I heard Fox and replied, "Exactly like Wolf, back during the Aparoid invasion."

"Foxy's goin back to the past." Falco mused.

"Shut it, Falco." Fox said harshly. "Continue, Kevin."

I lowered my head, "After Woods and I left the engaging zone, Blaze's comm line died out. I watched behind me as I saw an explosion. After a few minutes of flying, we encountered some type of Venomian fighter with incredible fire power and advanced stealth. He quickly shot me out of the sky, leading me to fly out of the cockpit and into the air. As I was flying, I set my shields to max and braced for impact on the ground. I hit so hard that the shield broke, my communicator got messed up, and the mechanisms jammed. So you could say I went through a lot of crap to get all these problems." I explained.

Slippy spoke up, "Okay, this is all understandable."

"We may have to watch out for this unknown pilot then." Fox said.

"Agreed." I said.

Suddenly, Johnson's voice came over the comms. "Okay team, we have the okay. Radar is showing that all three mushroom clouds are clear enough for safe travel and that any harmful remnants are gone. You're clear to meet with the Mexican and Canadian forces."

"Alright!" I yelled.

"Also, all enemy units were destroyed. Only a few fled in the direction of the allied forces." Johnson continued.

Fox spoke loudly, "Alright team Star Fox let's get going!"

The team all accelerated, I quickly followed after them. We were now heading for our allies and were ready to take America back.

"Let's kill these Star Wolf scum." I said quietly.

_To be Continued… _

_All right, another chapter down in this EXTREMELY long story line. I have a lot planned for the future; more battles, more bonding, more action, more suspense! It's gonna be sick!_

_Anyway… be sure to review (including you anonymous readers, you can review anonymously) and favorite the book to come back to it later on _

_Until next time, my awesome readers…_


	7. Chapter 7: Eastern Blitz

_What is up guys? Jon3s115 here, I'm bringing you yet another chapter of this book. Hope you all like it. To clear some confusion, there is no romance between Kevin and Krystal; just bonding for friendship. I would also like to thank those who stayed with me through all three books. Your support is being rewarded with the surprise at the end of this book! Don't forget about that ;). _

_On with the story…_

**Chapter 7: Eastern Blitz **

We headed off to where the allies were waiting. We stopped about a few miles from them; I however began my circling maneuver. There was a huge amount of troops; a large, thick line that stretched as far as the eye could see; it was amazing! There were tanks, HMV's, mortars, troop transports, and an incredible amount of jets flying in a strict flying pattern to avoid crashing. Our army was absolutely immense.

"My god! THIS is our army?!" I said in awe.

"Wolf doesn't stand a chance against us!" Falco said as he laughed slightly.

I chuckled as well, "That's true"

Slippy then spoke up, "Well, how are we going to get the land vehicles to the other countries? I'm sure all the transports are gone."

I sighed, "Damn it Slippy, why do you gotta kill the enthusiasm?"

Slippy just laughed along with Fox and Krystal.

"That's enough guys. We have to find out how we command this many troops." Fox said.

I quickly replied, "We don't. They aren't our troops; they have their own orders already."

Krystal agreed, "True, they are from another military. We have no jurisdiction."

Falco sighed, "Soooo what? We just fly towards the east while they follow?"

I sighed as well, "I guess"

"Alright then, let's go Star Fox!" Fox said.

Suddenly, a random voice was heard, "Atención aeronave desconocida. Agregar esta área inmediatamente o se le disparó abajo!" (Attention unknown aircraft; leave the area immediately or be shot down!)

Fox was quick with a reply, "What the hell was that?"

I jumped in quickly, "I'll handle this, Fox." I cleared my throat, "Este es el equipo Star Fox. Estamos con las tropas estadounidenses y estamos aquí como parte de la misión. ¿No te dijo que no a nuestra participación?" (This is the Star Fox Team. We are with you soldiers and we are part of this mission. Were you told of our participation?) I said back.

"You speak that language?" Falco asked.

"Yeah, remember when I showed you the first time?" I said.

The voice then spoke again, "Ah sí, Starfox! Nos dijeron de ti. ¿Nos está llevando a la batalla?" (Ah yes, Star Fox! We were told of you. Are you leading us into battle?)

"Uh-oh" I said.

"What's wrong?" Fox asked.

"He just asked if we were leading." I replied.

"Damn it, I can't speak his language, and this army is immense. We can't lead this entire thing ourselves!" Fox said.

Krystal then cleared her throat, "Sus órdenes simples, tomar toda aeronave desconocida. Habrá un montón, así que por favor pase esto a cada equipo en su ejército." (Your orders are simple, take out any unknown aircraft except for us.)

My eyes grew wide, "Whoa that was surprising!"

Fox laughed, "Oh yeah, I forgot about that time she scanned your brain."

"What did you say?" Slippy asked.

"I said to just destroy any unknown aircraft besides us." Krystal replied. "Las tropas de tierra se centrarán en todos los tanques enemigos, los transportes y los soldados." (The ground troops will handle anything on the ground along with soldiers, transports, and tanks.) She said over the comm once more.

"Entendido" (affirmative) the Mexican leader replied.

"Now for everyone else: take out anything that is unknown to your radars." Fox said loudly.

"I sent you all the data to the team's ships. You should be able to identify us now." Slippy then added.

Another random voice was heard, "But who are you?"

Fox spoke up, "We're Star Fox. Didn't you listen to when we spoke to the other leader?"

"Hey, that's the team the Americans promised us!" Another voice said. "We can move out now!"

"Stand-by for their orders first." Another more burly voice commanded, "What are your orders?"

Fox spoke loud, "Let's move out!"

The same voice replied, "Alright… oh, and try not to go to fast; I heard that your aircraft are pretty fast."

"Don't worry, we won't go too fast, but we do need to hurry." Fox explained, "The enemy units may be regrouping as we speak."

"Affirmative" the leader replied.

"Alright, now let's move!" Fox said.

The six of us then sped towards the east followed by our army; the ground forces double timed their speed to keep up. It took us a bit to reach our first attack area, but when we got there, we were a bit surprised to see who was there; there were a huge amount of enemy ships and land forces scattered as far as the eye could see. I, for one, was not worried because we also had an army that was the same.

"Wait till the ground forces open fire; that's when the battle will start to heat up." Fox said over the comms.

As soon as the ground forces opened fire, the air forces split into their tightly organized squads to take the enemy forces.

"Bravo squad, follow me." A voice said.

"Alfa equipo, montar." (Alpha Squad, follow me) Another voice said.

"Alright, 3492nd nuggets, lets' do this like the textbook." Another said.

I silenced the comms from everyone except for the team. I didn't want to be cluttered with all the voices.

"Split up, team; take down every one of these bastards!" Fox said.

I smiled, "With pleasure"

"I got one!" Falco exclaimed, "These guys are too easy."

"Same here" Krystal agreed, "They are rather easy to destroy."

I looked for a small group of fighters I could hit. I quickly found the perfect one and chased after them. I locked my sights onto them and easily took them down. After that, I found another group and did the same; these pilots were horrible at fighting.

After I destroyed the small group, I was tailed by a group of three fighters. I looped around and fired upon the group. They exploded into a fiery explosion. I flew through the debris as I barrel rolled. When I came out of the explosion, lasers were deflected from the hull. I looked behind me and saw yet another group chasing me. I circled around and barrel rolled left and right repeatedly, trying to get an opening to do a loop. After a few seconds of constant spinning, I finally found an opening to loop. I took the chance and was only hit a few times; my shields were at 89 percent. I came out of the loop and destroyed the fighters quickly.

"Damn, I can't shake this guy!" Woods yelled.

I quickly looked around and found Woods jet with the help of the Smart Glass; this was the name I gave the special canopy that labeled the ships within my view. After I found Woods, I quickly followed after him. Once I locked into the chase, I opened fire on the enemy fighters in front of me. Since Woods was already being hit, I had no time to focus on lining up the sights; I just sprayed and prayed.

"Damn it Kevin, can't you get these guys?" Woods said in frustration.

I kept firing on the ships, "I'm trying!"

I finally took the risk and focused on the sights. The enemy ships continuously jerked left and right; it was incredibly frustrating. I jerked the control stick left and right, trying to mimic the motion of the three fighters that were in front of me. I focused intently on the reticle. The fighters kept passing in front of it over and over; I used this to my advantage. As the fighter passed over my reticle, I opened fire and destroyed him.

"One down" I said.

The other two then completely dispersed from the chase. They must have been scared of the fact that I nearly got them.

"You're all good, Woods" I said cheerfully.

I pulled off and looked for one of the escaped pilots. I looked up and saw one flying overhead chasing after a jet. I jerked the control stick back and quickly began to climb. I opened fire and watched as the helpless fighter flew right into my barrage of lasers. I was surprised that he didn't even see them to begin with.

The computer then suddenly showed a message, "Incoming transmission" The screen kept flashing.

I opened it and heard the pilot that I had just saved.

"Gracias!" The pilot said.

"De nada!" I replied. "Ahora continúe con su misión." (Now continue your mission)

I pulled up and saw a lone fighter that was flying rather slowly. I chased after him but was greatly deceived; I underestimated the fact that he was alone for he was far more skilled than I had previously thought. As soon as I tailed him, he immediately tried vigorously to escape my sights. I pressed the trigger and sent beams of energy out towards him, but he flawlessly dodged each one.

"Alright you little freak, I see how it is." I said to myself quietly.

I continued to fire upon the enemy fighter. I was lucky to hit him multiple times; he must not have paid any attention. After he regained after the hits, he banked hard to the left; I easily followed after him. Suddenly, the fighter quickly banked right; I barely kept up. While in the bank, I lined my sights perfectly and fired upon the ship.

"Got cha, you little bitch!" I yelled in a cheerful voice.

I looked at the flaming ship; it was spinning out of control towards the ground. I was glad that I got yet another enemy fighter.

"That's what you get." I said with a laugh.

Suddenly, I saw the ship snap out of the spin and instantly regain control. I was absolutely shocked at what I saw. The flames had died out and his ship was no longer smoking.

"What the…" I said loudly, "That's not…"

Then I witnessed something I had never even thought possible, the ship vanished into thin air! I was even more dumbfounded at the sight. I didn't even know it could do that!

"Wh-… where th-…" I stuttered.

"What's wrong, Kevin?" Krystal asked.

I shook my head in disbelief, "Uh… this enemy ship just fixed itself… and then disappeared!"

"What? That's not possible." Slippy said in his high pitched voice.

I sneered, "Well I just saw it happen right in front of me!"

Fox spoke up, "Calm down, you must have been seeing things. There isn't a physical stealth that works on ships like this; it can't do its job when we move as fast as we do."

I rubbed my eyes as I continued starring at the spot the ship had vanished from. Suddenly, my jet was rocked violently; I was hit by an enemy fighter. I looked back and saw that it was that same one that had disappeared.

"There it is! It's on my tail!" I yelled.

Falco replied, "On my way!"

I barrel rolled to the left and deflected the shots that this fighter had fired at me. I then banked left and tried to squeeze out of his line of sight, I was however unsuccessful, instead, he continued hitting me as if I wasn't even turning.

"Damn Falco, hurry up!" I yelled.

"I'm trying! He won't stop moving!" Falco yelled back.

I then turned hard to the left, yet he still hit me continuously. My shields were now at 67%; I was getting a bit scared now.

"Falco, get this guy off of me!" I yelled.

"I'M TRYING!" Falco yelled even louder.

"Warning, shields at 50%." The computer said.

I then jerked the control stick back and quickly ascended into the sky; the fighter followed after me. I continued pulling the stick and performed a full loop.

"I'm coming to help." Krystal said.

"Me too" Woods added.

I looked around and saw a barrage of lasers flying passed me. I was hit several times but was able to barrel roll after the first hit.

I grunted, "This bitch won't quit!"

"Incoming transmission" The computer told me.

"Patch it through" I replied as I barrel rolls to the left then to the right.

A dark face then appeared on my HUD. I was unable to even make out a face.

"Greetings, Kevin." The being spoke in a low toned voice.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked harshly.

The being chuckled, "I'm the one killing you."

I looked back and noticed that the being had ceased fire on me, but was still chasing after me and dodging Woods', Krystal's, and Falco's lasers. This guy was incredibly skilled at what he does.

"Well, asshole, that doesn't tell me much about you." I replied in a harsh tone.

Suddenly, the beings face was lit up by a flashing light in the background. He had dark grey fur, similar to that of Wolf's and had a black stripe that ran from his ear to cover his left eye. His face resembled that of Fox and he had a bad scar on his right eye. While I examined his face, he smiled at me.

"Do you know who I am?" The pilot asked.

I sighed, "No, you've already asked me that." I was getting annoyed rather than intimidated.

"I am the one that shot you down. As a matter of fact, you should be dead!" The being replied in a loud voice, "My name is Robert Wright, and I was sent to kill you a while back."

I chuckled, "Well you suck at your job."

Wright then sneered, "Silence!"

My ship was then rocked by several lasers that had hit me. He must have used that as a method to shut me up.

"My mission was to kill you. Since I failed last time, I will make sure that you are dead before I leave." Wright explained.

"You can't do that." I said in a calm tone.

Wright just looked at me, "Why is that?"

I chuckled, "Simple, you're being chased by three of the best pilots I know, and on top of that, your forces are dwindling as we speak. You're no match for us!" I said as I looked back at the maneuvering ship.

As I looked back in front of me, I was hit several times by Wright again. I was startled at the sudden movements.

"Damn you! Caught me of guard you ugly ass freak!" I yelled.

I then 'killed' my speed and spun vertically to have Wright pass under me. After I leveled out, I pushed the throttle and chased after Wright. Falco, Krystal, and wright then got up next to me and began to fire.

"Are you okay?" Woods asked.

"I'm fine, just shoot this bastard!" I yelled quickly.

Wright then pulled up and accelerated to incredible speeds. He was escaping, probably by Wolf's hand.

"Get him!" I yelled.

Fox quickly replied, "No, let him be; I have a feeling that we're going to see him again soon. Besides, he isn't of our concern right now."

I looked up at the escaping fighter. It pissed me off to see that he was getting away, but at the same time I was glad because he was close to actually shooting me down again. My shields were at 39% because of him.

"Damn, he almost got me, AGAIN!" I yelled, "This guy has some training."

Woods replied, "Wait… again?"

I sighed, "Yes again, that was the same guy that shot us down over Alabama."

I looked around and saw that nearly all of the enemy ships were destroyed. We were easily winning this fight.

"Wait, are you serious?" Woods said.

"He was incredibly skilled." Krystal added, "He must have been trained by Wolf himself."

The computer then spoke loudly, "Incoming transmission" it said.

I sighed once more, "Time to get back to work." I said, "Open comm line"

It was one of the ground force leaders, "Sir, do you think you can swing down here and give us an airstrike?"

"Uh, sure" I replied cautiously. I had never delivered an airstrike before and was worried that it would go wrong.

"Great, we're lazing the target now. Can you see it?" The ground troop asked.

I looked down at my radar and saw the target marked as yellow, "I see it"

I then dove down below the large air battle and headed for the lazed target. As I flew to the spot, I looked down and saw the troops putting up a great fight. They were against tanks that fired large bursts of energy and soldiers with plasma rifles. I was really impressed to see that there were virtually barely any destroyed tanks of Earth.

"Impressive" I said to myself, "Approaching target, clear the area immediately."

"Affirmative" the ground troop replied.

As I neared the location, I readied to relentlessly fire on whatever they had lazed. I pressed my finger against the trigger and watched the radar carefully for when to shoot.

"Got cha" I said quietly as I fired upon the lazed area.

I quickly flew past and was unable to see it all happen, but I knew for a fact that it was a success.

"Thanks a lot, sir. We needed that extra push." The troop said.

"It's no problem" I replied as I pulled up and into the aerial fight once more.

I looked ahead and noticed that there were no enemy fighters left.

"Whoa, you guys are done?" I asked.

Slippy chuckled, "Yeah, radar is clean except for the ground forces."

Fox then spoke, "Kevin, tell the air forces to regroup at the nearest operational base. We'll stay and help the ground forced finish off the hostiles."

I opened a comm line with every jet that was along the country wide line of jets.

"Attention all units, report to the nearest operational base immediately. Vuelva a la base de operaciones más cercano." I said over the comm line.

I looked over to my left and saw the endless line of grey turn around and head inland. The same went for the right.

"Alright team; let's get rid of these last enemy troops." Fox said.

I saw him dive down towards the ground along with Krystal, Slippy, and Falco. Woods and I remained in the air above where the rest of the team had just gone.

"Woods, head back to base and de brief. Tell us our next plan over the comms." Fox continued.

"Alright, I'll head back with the rest of the forces." Woods replied.

I was a bit confused as to why Fox just said that. Why would he send Woods away? I then decided to dive towards the ground and follow after the team. Fox and Krystal went to the left, Falco and Slippy went to the right. I followed after Falco and Slippy. As I flew above the ground, I relentlessly fired and continued destroying anything the lasers hit. I saw Falco and Slippy doing the same thing.

"Kevin, try to stay back a bit so you can any leftovers." Falco said.

"I already got that covered" I replied.

After a few minutes of endless firing, we reached the inland coast of Florida. Our forces pushed all the enemy units out of America; we had full control of the country.

"Alright, let's turn around and start the second attack run." Falco said.

I jerked the stick right and pulled on it to bank hard. Once I was at the same level as last time, I opened fire and did what I did the first time. I could see the explosions from Falco's and Slippy's targets.

When I had finished the run, Falco, Slippy, and I regrouped with Fox and Krystal. I started to fly around the stopped team as I always did.

"Thanks Star Fox, all ground troops heading back to base." The ground leader said.

"All right, we have America back!" I said.

Fox sighed, "Yet, we're not done."

My smiled drifted away a bit, "What do you mean?" I said as I looked down at Fox's Arwing.

Krystal sighed, "You didn't tell him?!"

Falco agreed, "Yeah, why didn't you fill him in?"

Fox then sighed as well, "Look, we're going against what Johnson and Brooks told us. We're going straight for Wolf and Panther, and we're destroying anything along the way."

I sighed, "Damn, going solo now?" I asked.

Fox chuckled, "Yep, it's the way it should be anyway."

I nodded my head, "That is true; you guys always did carry out army sized orders with only a few ships."

I thought about this newly thought of plan; maybe it was a bad idea. I mean, we already tried this once and it ended up with the near deaths of Fox and Falco. Granted we were all split, but still it was a big risk.

"Let's head out now before they see us leave." Fox said, "Activate your backup ship signatures so they can't track us."

"Um… I don't have one." I said.

Fox replied, "Just deactivate your computer."

I did as he said and turned off the computer system. I was now blind for surprise attacks, since the computer usually warned me of such things.

"So where too first?" I asked.

Slippy cleared his throat, "Well, according to a satellite that I brought back from Corneria, Wolf is held up in China. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get an exact reading because the signal was scrambled, but I was able get a general idea of where he may be." He explained, "Also, intel shows that there are three bases in Africa, one in Australia, one in Japan, four in China, none in Russia, and only two in all of Europe."

Fox chuckled, "Looks like he didn't have enough troops to spread over every country he has."

I chuckled as well, "He shouldn't after that crazy attack back in Lylat."

"Exactly, let's go after the African bases first." Fox said.

"Sounds like a plan" Falco replied.

"Sound good" Krystal replied as well.

"Let's do this" Slippy said.

Fox cleared his throat, "All right team; let's move out!"

_To be Continued…_

_Ah… another chapter done. Sorry this one took a while; I had a writer's block -.- . Anyway, review and tell me what you thought. And also follow or favorite if you liked it. Stay awesome guys!_

_Until next time…_


	8. Chapter 8: African Bases

_I have some good news and some bad news: the good news is that my schedule has opened up, like, a bunch! You didn't know, but, I was on my schools track team so the writing slew down. Anyway, the bad news is that I unfortunately did not qualify for C.I.F; I was close to it, but was not able to fulfill it. It's kind of a mix; good because my schedule cleared and the book will be faster, but bad because I lost and can't get championship. Oh well, anyway…_

_On with the story…_

**Chapter 8: African Bases**

The five of us sped towards South Africa; the location of the first operational base that Wolf had under his control. I didn't really know the plane as to how we would destroy this base, I only knew that it was our mission; destroy the base. I was actually pondering on how exactly we would pull this off.

"Hey, how exactly are we going to destroy this base?" I asked.

Fox replied, "Well, it won't be easy."

Slippy then chimed in, "He's right, the only the way to do this is to infiltrate and plant explosives."

Fox coughed, "Uh, exactly. The other thing is that since you don't have an Arwing, you'll be the one to infiltrate the base."

I sighed, "Why me? I have a malfunctioning suit. The shield is barley operational, the helmet does not work, my comms are very weak, and my D-40 is only half charged."

Falco then kicked in, "I'm going to. I had a feeling that you could use some help, that and I can rig the central area with the explosives."

I sighed once, "Oh thank you Falco" I said sarcastically.

It really made a lot of sense that Falco was going to accompany me on these base missions. After all, he was in a gang after the academy. Knowing of his past, I decided to try and not speak on this mission; I didn't want to wake some past gang member that was inside of him.

"Don't mention it, kid." Falco replied somewhat harshly.

"That's enough you two." Fox said playfully, "Based on the intel Slippy got from the transport we stole, it seems as though there are main cores at each base. They are apparently used to power the defenses."

Krystal spoke up, "Where are the cores?" She asked.

Slippy cleared his throat, "This base, which we are heading to, has the core located in the center of the main compound. It's a fairly large building and it's really hard to miss." He explained.

"Okay, so what kind of explosives am I dealing with?" Falco then asked.

"Upgraded wall charges" Slippy replied.

Fox then spoke, "How upgraded?" He asked cautiously.

Slippy cleared his throat, "These actually have a much larger power than the other charges."

"That's it? Noting too crazy?" Fox asked.

Falco, Krystal, and I all laughed; Slippy was known to kind of over exaggerate on his 'upgrades'.

Slippy sighed, "It's not going to blow up in his face or anything."

Falco stopped laughing, "Good, cause I don't want to get burned off on the first mission." He replied.

Fox then quickly spoke, "Hey, get ready; we're nearing the base."

I looked around to look for some strange activity. Since we were getting close to the base, there could be scouts; maybe even full squads sent into defend orders.

I looked over at Krystal's Arwing; I saw her with her eyes closed, as if she was meditating. She must have been scanning for brain activity.

"Can you find anything, Krystal?" I asked.

I saw her open her eyes, "Yes, I sense a large concentration of troops. I couldn't see if they were mostly air of ground."

"Great job Krystal." Fox said.

I looked back ahead and saw a few small black dots. I could barely make them out, but I knew that they were there.

"Wait, I sense a group just ahead of us." Krystal then said.

I stared at the spot, "I see them; just barely though."

Fox cam over the comms, "Deactivate all radar systems; we're gonna sneak past and surprise the base."

I looked over my HUD and turned off my radar; I was as blind as a bat now. I looked back up and saw that we had greatly neared the group of fighters.

"Slowly get past them. We don't want to make too much noise." Fox then said.

'Shit' I thought to myself.

Krystal quickly replied, "What's wrong, Kevin?"

I was a bit startled; I really had to get used to that. "My jets engines are pretty loud; it may startle the pilots or even draw attention to us."

Fox quickly replied, "Juts keep going, if they find us then take them out before they leave."

I followed after Fox as closely as I could. The rest were doing the same. I looked over at Krystal, whom was looking at me as well.

"Don't worry; you'll be fine down there. Falco's got your back." She thought to me.

I thought back, "I know Falco will be of great assistance; I'm just worried about going down there practically naked."

"Just trust your instincts." She thought.

I looked back ahead; those words were so simple, yet so helpful. I thought about it and soon came to calm my own senses.

"Set your jet to auto pilot and try to meditate. It'll calm you." She then thought.

I did as she told me and set the jet to auto pilot; it was to follow after Fox's Arwing no matter what happens. Once I activated it, I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths. Krystal did the same with me; she joined to help me enter my conscience. After a second, I had entered my conscience with Krystal.

"Try to forget about your worries." She said to me.

I then thought of all the good that would come out of this. Several images then appeared in the empty space the two of us were in. They were images of my people lining the streets, celebrating about the victory of Earth. There were images of people leaving the shelters that they had fled to; it was a good sight to see.

Krystal looked at me, "Very good; you handle this very well for being new at it."

Suddenly, I was taken away from this by the voice of Fox. He was yelling.

"There's the base. Split up and start your attack runs!" He yelled.

I repeatedly blinked my eyes open and closed to get out of the trance I had been in. Once I regained my focus, I gripped the control stick and turned off my autopilot. I barrel rolled out of the way and towards the base.

"Time to get what you deserve, you sick bastards!" I said to myself.

I then relentlessly opened fire on the base along with the others. We were dealing so much damage to this base. I neared the ground and quickly pulled up towards the sky. I stayed level until I reached a subtle altitude, then I pulled back on the flight stick and headed back down to the base. I was met with an unpleasant sight though; as I exited my mini loop, I saw three enemy fighters chasing after me.

"Oh crap!" I yelled, "I found three guys going after me!"

"On my way" Krystal replied.

In no time at all, Krystal flew by and destroyed the enemy fighters.

"Thanks Krystal" I said.

I continued my descent on the enemy base and opened fire. I saw Falco and Fox pass by each other as they fired upon the base. I pulled up slightly to cover more are of destruction. I then lifted my thumb and fired a smart bomb in between two large buildings. They were leveled instantly. I pulled up and escaped the explosion by only a hair.

"Nice thinking, Kevin." Fox said he fired a smart bomb at a group of smaller buildings.

"Hey, the fighters are taking off!" Slippy yelled.

I looked over to my left and saw the hangar. I jerked the stick to the left then towards me and headed straight for the hangar. I fired another smart bomb and leveled the entire building.

"I count only thirty enemy fighters. 80% were scout troops." Slippy continued.

"Great job, we got them by surprise perfectly." Fox said.

I looked down at the air strip, "Cover the runway, I'm heading in."

I then turned towards the long strip and activated the landing gear. I was slowing down when suddenly I was hit several times. My jets rocked side to side vigorously and I almost lost control due to the speed I was going.

"Damn it; keep these guys off of me." I yelled.

I hit the ground and skid to a stop. I then looked for the large building that Slippy was talking about; he was right, it was really hard to miss. I instantly found it and started to drive my way there.

"I'll cover your jet from above." Falco said loudly.

I looked up and saw Falco's Arwing slowly fly above me.

"When I get there, land and jump out immediately; I don't know if they have troops held up inside." I said.

"I'm positive that they do." Falco replied.

When I finally reached the building, I grabbed my half charged pistol and opened the canopy. As it opened, Falco landed and jumped out onto the ground. I then jumped down as well and ran over to Falco.

"You got the charges?" I asked him.

He then held up two wall charges, "You bet"

I looked at the building entrance; it was a large door that resembled that of a hangar.

"You ready?" I said as I looked back at Falco.

Falco looked up, "Let's hope they don't let these guys level this building." He said quietly.

Fox came over the comm lines, "Don't worry, we won't let a single one of these guys get near you."

I looked around the empty area; there were no troops anywhere in sight; that is until I looked over at a large building just across from the tar mat.

"Oh shit" I said, "Falco, we've got some company."

I pointed at the large doors opening. Out of the building came running a huge amount of enemy troops; they were all geared and ready for one hell of a battle.

"Damn, that's a lot for us to handle." Falco replied.

I raised my wrist, "Fox, Krystal, Slippy, we have a huge amount of enemy troops making their way to our position right now. You mind helping us out?"

"On my way" Replied Fox.

Suddenly, a barrage of lasers tore through the enemy line.

"That's all I can do; these fighters really don't like us here. Fox then said.

I looked at the enemy line; there was a great loss of numbers, yet they were still heading for us.

"Wow, do we really need to show them more?" Falco asked.

I looked at him, "What do you mean?"

He chuckled, "We have to kick their asses even harder just to get them to stop."

I looked back at the line; they were getting closer and closer.

I reached down and grabbed my pistol from my holster. I then raised it up to point at the large group of enemies that were coming at us.

"You ready?" I asked Falco.

He had his rifle with him and was aiming it at the enemies, "Let's tear them apart."

I looked back and started to fire at the group. They immediately started to fire back at us.

I quickly turned around and ran for my jet. I slid behind the wheel and used it for cover. I took a few breaths and came out for only a second to fire a few shots. Lasers were flying past me like crazy. Once it cleared, I ran over to where Falco was and fired as I ran. I slid behind him and joined him in the cover.

"These guys are relentless." Falco said as he laughed.

I shook my head and rose above the boxes we had hidden behind. I fired several times and hit several troops while doing it. I then quickly ducked back down.

"I got a few!" I yelled over the whizzing of lasers.

"Yeah, well there's still a lot more to go." Falco said as he patted my shoulder.

Suddenly the compartment on the back of my waist opened without any command to do so.

"What the hell?" I said, "It just now opens?!"

I then grabbed the two grenades that were in it and showed them to Falco. He looked at me and smiled.

"Toss them bitches!" He yelled happily.

I then activated both grenades and cooked them for a second, and then I threw them in separate directions.

"GRENADE!" I heard a few of the enemies yell.

The next thing I heard was two loud explosions and yells.

Falco motioned to look over and see what happened. The lasers had stopped flying and the yells had stopped as well.

I slowly peeked over the wall of boxes and saw a familiar sight. There was blood and body parts scattered around the area.

"Just like Sargasso." I said.

"Are they gone?" Falco asked.

I nodded, "Yeah, they've been… torn apart… literally."

Falco then looked over as well. His eyes grew wide at the sight, "Holy shit"

I shook my head and looked back at the building.

"Let's get going before those fighters get a chance to kill us." I said.

Falco looked at me, "Alright"

We both then ran towards the large door; it was about the size of a hangar bay door. I looked to the side and found the mechanism that opens the door. I ran over to it and pressed the button; this caused the large door to slid open slowly. Behind the large door was a regular sized door.

"Weird" Falco exclaimed, "Why the hell is there this big ass door then a regular door right behind it?"

I shrugged, "Camouflage?"

"It doesn't matter, let's plant this sucker and get out of here." He then said.

The two of us then headed inside the building. I had my gun readied out in front of me, just in case of surprises.

"Look, an elevator." Falco said as he pointed to a metal door.

I looked around and then ran over to the elevator. I was very surprised to see that there was no code pad on it.

"This is too easy." Falco said as he called the elevator.

It took the elevator a few second to reach us. As it opened, I saw two figures inside. When the doors finally opened the two guards, which were inside, yelled at us. I was startled at the sight.

"FREEZE!" They yelled with their guns raised.

"Oh shit" I thought to myself.

I looked over at Falco who had his hands raised and was looking at the ground. I then looked at the two guards; one was walking to me and the other to Falco. I knew what I could do, but it was a risk. When the first guard reached me, I clenched my right hand into a fist and brought it down forcefully. The guard was knocked to the ground. While my hand was going down, I activated the Wave and saw my vision distort.

"Hold still, Falco!" I yelled.

My vision then cleared and I instantly ran to the second guard. I swung my fist behind me and continued to bring it up from behind, leading into a forceful uppercut. The guard was thrown into the air and as he was in the air, I grabbed him and tackled him to the ground. I looked back and saw the first guard slowly getting back up; I instantly ran to him and kicked him incredibly hard in the abdomen. I then ran back to the other guard and kicked his head as I was running to him. The Wave then deactivated without command.

"Argh" I grunted from the sudden shut down. I fell to my knee from the sudden shock of pain. I wasn't ready for a shut down, so I was induced with great amount nausea and dizziness.

Falco quickly grabbed me, "Whoa, you okay?"

I nodded my head, regardless of the pain I felt, "I'm… fine… this gear is so… messed up right now."

I shook my head and tried to get control of myself again. The two guards then started to get up; Falco then got up as well and grabbed my pistol, he then shot both guards. I watched as the two guards fell back down lifeless.

I stumbled to get back on my feet, but was barely able to do so.

"Slippy never told me about these side effects." I said softly with my weak voice, "…bastard"

I coughed several times and nearly threw up. "Damn it, I'm gonna kill him when I get the chance."

Falco just laughed.

I then straightened up and took several breaths. I started to feel much better, as if the symptoms instantly vanished.

"Okay… okay… I'm good. Let's get going and blow this place to hell." I said before I walked into the elevator.

Falco followed right behind me.

"Slippy, does the intel say if the core is on a certain level of the base?" Falco asked over the comm.

Slippy replied, "Um… yeah, it says the core for this base is located right when you exit the elevator on sub-level 1."

I then pressed the button that said -1.

"Thanks, Slip" Falco said.

The elevator then started to move. I looked down at my pistol and saw that it only had a 30% charge left.

"I don't think this'll last." I said.

Falco then handed me his D-50 rifle.

"You're gonna have to cover me. A barely charged pistol won't do the job." He explained.

I grabbed the rifle and put the slung the strap over my body.

"Let me see if the shield will work." I then raised my wrist and entered the command. Thankfully, the shield rose and was set in place, however my communicator told me that it was operating at half its usual standards.

"Better than nothing" Falco told me.

"You got that right" I replied.

The elevator then stopped moving. I pressed the button to keep the doors closed and looked at Falco.

"Ready?" I asked.

He had the charges in his hands, "Let's do this."

I released the button; the doors slowly slid open.

The room was enormous; there was row after row of large computer terminals, mainly to keep the core in check. They were set up to be ten rows and several large cubicles set in a square around a large structure that appeared to be the core. The core itself reached all the way to the roof. I looked around and counted about twenty guards spread out around the room.

I looked at Falco, "Quiet" I whispered. He nodded at me.

There were two guards standing near the elevator; they were facing the opposite direction. As I looked at the guards, I slowly made my way past them and behind an unused computer terminal. Falco was right behind me.

"Did you see the size of that thing?" I whispered.

He nodded, "Don't worry about that cause it's blowing up anyway."

I looked up at the computer and slowly stood up. The terminal itself was large so I was able to conceal myself just by being in the cubicle. I looked behind me and poked my head out of the cubicle; I saw that no one was nearby.

"I'm going to check for any weaknesses." I said quietly.

Falco nodded, "Just hurry; I'm not trying to get caught, ya know?"

I looked at the large screen and active activated it. A screen that read 'password' appeared.

"Shit, it needs a password" I whispered.

Falco then reached into his belt compartment and pulled out a small device.

"Plug this into it, it should hack it." He quietly said.

I shook my head, "Do you know how useful this could have been!?"

He shrugged.

I then plugged the small device into the terminal and allowed it to do its job. In a few seconds, it successfully decoded the password and granted me entry. I immediately started to search for structure blueprints.

"Search: Core Blueprints" I typed.

I was quickly given several results; document containing structure parts, the main blueprint, and use of the core. I clicked on the use first.

"What?" I said as I read.

Falco then got up and looked at the screen. "Really?" he said.

I was amazed to see what I had just read. This new intel had given us the knowledge needed to greatly weaken Wolf's forces. And it was in a few sentences!

"Send Fox a message explaining what we just found!" I said.

Falco nodded, "Already on it."

I then exited the window and clicked on the structure blueprints. According to it, there was a small area that needed constant checking to keep it operational. It was located on the north side of the structure and was connected via a large cable; a charge planted right above the cord on the structure would really do some damage, a second one nearby would do even more.

"Got it" I whispered, "We have to move to the north side and plant the charges."

Falco sighed, "Damn it, that's risky."

I nodded, "But it's the only way to ensure this place is leveled for good."

I then poked my head out ad saw no one in sight of the large row.

"Clear" I whispered.

I then slowly walked out with my pistol raised; the rifle would be too clunky to use for sneaking so I had it hang off my back.

I looked back and saw Falco watching behind us for anyone to appear.

As we slowly walked, we neared the entrance of another cubicle. I slowed down and slowly poke my head inside; no one was in it. I then tapped Falco's back and continued walking in our crouched position.

As we neared the next cubicle, a being stepped out and walked in the direction we were heading. I stopped suddenly and caused Falco to nearly fall. My heart started to race. The being continued walking and then turned at the upcoming turn.

"Almost there" I whispered.

The two of us continued and stopped at the turn. I looked around the corner and saw the cord run through a small opening through the rows of computers about halfway down. I turned the corner and saw a guard walk out of a cubicle that was right in front of us. I stopped again and caused Falco to fall.

I tapped his shoulder and looked back at him. He looked forward and saw the guard. He then slowly reached behind him and pulled out a combat knife. It was very large and seemed incredibly sharp.

I looked at him, "Take him out" he whispered slightly.

I then looked back at the guard and slowly put my pistol down. Once I quietly released my pistol, I slowly rose and stood up; at the same time I was making my way to the guard.

"Peek-a-boo" I whispered into his ear before I grabbed his mouth.

The guard vigorously shook, trying to escape. I then moved the blade to point at his face and then jabbed it into his throat. He immediately stopped moving and went limp. I slowly put him on the floor and moved him into the cubicle he had come out of.

I came out and saw Falco in the same place as he was, "Nice" he said quietly.

My armor was now covered with blood on my chest and on my hands.

I looked up and over the tall cubicles and saw no one moving in our direction.

"Let's get to that cord and follow it before more guards and workers near here." I said.

He nodded and the two of us then started to jog in our crouched position.

We made it to the large cord and followed it down the path towards the core. Since none of the cubicle opened on that side, we ran to the core.

"Quick, plant the charges." I said a bit loudly.

Falco looked at me with wide eyes.

I looked around and saw a head of a human worker peek over the cubicle and look right us. I stared back at the worker intently and with a blank expression.

"Fuck" I thought to myself.

The worker then slowly moved back down back into the cubicle. I looked at Falco, who was looking at me as well.

"Weird" I said.

Suddenly, a guard came walking around the corner that the cord ran through and spotted us.

"HEY!" He yelled.

I looked back at Falco, "Plant those bitches!"

I grabbed the rifle that was on my back and pointed it at the guard. I then fired several times at him; he ducked behind the corner and voided the shots.

"Set the bombs to blow in five minutes, Falco; we can get out of here in that time." I said.

He nodded as he punched in several codes.

I looked back and saw two guards running down the path; at the same time an alarm started to blare loudly. I aimed down the sights and took down both guards quickly.

I jumped up to get a glimpse over the cubicles and saw a huge number of troops moving towards the small path.

"Falco, WE HAVE TO GO NOW!" I yelled.

He got up, "Ready, now let's haul ass!" he yelled back.

The two of us then ran around the core and back on the west side. With no clear exit, Falco jumped up onto the cubicle and started to climb over it. I followed after him. I got to the top and looked back; I saw several guards making their way to us. I raised my rifle and shot five of the guards running at us. The others started to fire back at me. I was just about to jump down and head over the next cubicle, when I was suddenly hit several times on my back. I fell to the ground in pain.

"Damn it!" I yelled in pain.

I quickly got back up and ran out of the cubicle and after Falco down the path leading to the elevator. I looked back and saw guards climbing over the wall and into the path. I stopped and aimed down the sights; I pressed the trigger and held it as I ran back towards Falco. When I reached the elevator, I ceased firing and entered with Falco.

"Go go go go go go go go GO GO GO GO!" I yelled frantically as I repeatedly pressed the ground level button. "Damn this elevator!"

The door finally closed and the elevator moved up. As soon as we neared the top, our communications were working once more.

I immediately contacted Fox, "Fox, do you read me?"

Fox replied as his image appeared, "Have you planted the bomb?"

"Yes, get out of the area immediately." I said.

Fox nodded, "Copy that"

The elevator door then slid open.

"Let's get the hell out of here!" Falco yelled as he ran out. I followed closely behind him.

When we reached outside, I looked up and saw a few enemy ships remaining; they were tailed by Arwings.

"Didn't he listen?" I asked.

I reached my jet and quickly climbed up into the cockpit. I lowered the canopy and started all the major systems. I looked over at Falco, who had already taken off.

"Gotta hit the runway" I said frustratingly.

I drove the jet over to the start if the runway, which was right next to the main building with the core. As soon as I positioned correctly, I hit the thrusters to max. When I was half way down the runway, the building exploded in a huge fiery explosion. My jet rocked greatly and was nearly thrown off the run way; thankfully I was able to pull up and take off.

"Damn, these always seem to get me!" I yelled.

I pushed the throttle and caught up with the rest of the team.

"That was too close." I said.

"No kidding" Falco replied.

Krystal spoke up, "You guys came back unharmed and that's all that matters."

I nodded, "True, but still, it was pretty close."

Slippy then spoke, "I'm glad to see that the charges worked out fine."

Slippy speaking reminded me of something, "Oh yeah, that reminds me…" I said.

"Hm?" Slippy said softly.

"…you asshole!" I then yelled.

Falco burst out laughing at this.

"Wha-… what did I do?" Slippy said.

"You never told me about the side effects of this contraption!" I yelled.

"The G-Diffuser?" He asked.

I sighed, "The little box that makes me alert and fast. Because of the armor malfunctioning, it stopped while I was using it; I felt like I was gonna freaking die just from the feeling I got!"

Slippy seemed shocked, "Oh, I never told you to not stop it at random?"

"No you asshole!" I yelled.

Fox and Krystal had joined in with Falco's laughter.

"Don't worry; I'll fix when we get the chance." Slippy assured me.

I sighed, "Better not be a half assed job either; even the shield barely worked."

"I promise I'll work on your communicator, armor, shield, and the G-Diffuser." He said.

I shook my head, "I call it the Wave, by the way."

Slippy gave a puzzled look, "Wave?"

"Yeah, because it makes your sight all wave like and it makes you feel like a wave too." I explained.

Slippy nodded, "Makes sense"

Krystal stopped laughing and spoke up, "But you're fine, Kevin?" she asked.

I nodded, "Yeah, they wore off after a bit, but it still hurt like hell."

She nodded.

"Krystal says that the next base is not occupied. We can use it as a rest stop." Fox said, "Also, great job on the intel; now we know that the cores are used to power Wolf's army. Now we can really mess up Wolf's plans.

I looked down at my power indicator. It was at 30%.

"Yeah, i was pretty surprised." I said, "My fuel cell is close to empty." I continued.

"Well then, let's get going." Fox said.

We all sped up towards the direction of the next base. We reached it in only a few minutes. Once we found it, we slowed down and scouted the area.

"I sense no life force down there." Krystal said.

"I don't see anything either." Falco continued.

"Great, lets land near that hangar; there may be supplies there." Fox said.

I then turned around and headed for the end of the runway. I activated the landing gear and easily landed on the tar mat. Once I slowed down enough, I headed for the large hangar. As I drove towards it, I saw the rest of the team get out of their Arwings and head for the inside of the hangar.

I stopped and released the canopy, and then I jumped out and onto the ground. I walked towards the hangar and stretched as I did so. It felt good to be walking around knowing there is no danger lurking around each corner you turn. I opened the door and saw that the main office area was like a small living room with a work station to the right of the room and the living area to the right. The living area was composed of a small table and two couches on either end of it. Behind the back couch was a small kitchen area that Fox was standing next to.

"Nice" I said as I examined the room.

"Just the perfect spot to rest" Falco said as he lay out onto one of the couches.

"Yeah, get some rest guys. We'll head out tomorrow for the next base." Fox said as he took off his combat vest.

"Good to finally have rest." Krystal said as she sat on the couch across from the one Falco was on.

I took a deep breath and walked over behind the couch Falco was on. It was an open area that I could use to take off my armor.

"Time to breathe normal again" I said as I entered the release command.

I extended my arms outward and allowed the locks to release. Once they did, I lowered my arms and took off the armor pieces. I grabbed the arm piece and slid it off, and then I grabbed the other arm piece and did the same. I then grabbed my chest plate and removed it, allowing me to breathe much better than before.

"Aaahhh" I said in relief, "Much better"

Fox and Krystal laughed.

"Hey Kevin, assemble the armor again so I can start the repairs." Slippy said as he walked in.

"Okay" I replied.

I put the arm pieces apart from each other and started to make the body on the ground. I continued and removed the large back piece. I placed it in-between the two arm pieces. I then took off the two legs and placed them under the back piece. Finally, I grabbed the chest plate and placed it over the back piece.

"There we go" I said.

I entered the lock command and saw the suit move a bit from the locks engaging.

"Alright Slip, it's ready to go." I said to Slippy.

He walked over and grabbed the suit and then walked outside with it. I was now left in my black skin tight under armor suit.

"So it wasn't working right?" Fox asked me.

I looked behind me and saw him standing next to the counter.

"Yeah, after Alabama it hasn't worked right. All the systems were jammed and the comms was barely even working." I said.

"Oh yeah, you're crash with Woods." Fox said, "It was that bad?"

I froze in my stance. Those words made something snap inside of me. Fox saying that caused a flashback. I was instantly reminded of… that day; the day that had the pain I felt, the day with the lives I spent, the day several hundred lives were lost just from that one squad. How I poorly led them into that battle; the battle we were destined to loose from the start.

I remember the noblest pilot; Blaze; the nugget who survived until the retreat. He sacrificed himself to save Woods and me. I remembered his last words as if they were engraved into my mind.

"Blaze, what the hell are you doing?!" I yelled.

"Just go, I'll distract them!" Blaze yelled back.

"NO, THAT IS AN ORDER! YOU GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!" I yelled.

He was stubborn, but it saved my life.

"GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!" Blaze yelled at me.

I then remembered his final words that he spoke.

"It's been an honor serving this country."

I was then snapped out of my trance by Fox grabbing my shoulder. I flinched and quickly grabbed his hand. I was starting to breathe heavily.

"Are you okay?" Fox asked with a concerned look on his face.

I looked behind me and saw Krystal and Falco staring at me. I released his hand, "Uh… yeah… I'm fine." I said as I grabbed my head, "I just need some air."

I walked to the door and went outside. The cool air touching my face really helped sooth me. I looked up and thought of what happened that day. I was so crushed by the loss that I caused. I lowered my head and felt a tear emerge from my eye.

I then heard the door open. I looked behind me and saw Krystal standing right behind me.

"I sense your despair." She said.

I looked back out in front of me. I didn't want to speak, so I ignored her and pretended I didn't hear her.

"I understand your pain." She said.

I looked back, "How? You didn't cause the death of hundreds of noble lives, did you?"

She shook her head, "No"

I looked back in front of me, "Exactly"

"But…" she continued, "… I was part of the cause that made me lose everything I knew and loved."

I turned around and faced her; she had a tear rolling down her eye.

"I could have prevented the destruction of Cerinia. But I chose otherwise because of what the nobles told me." She explained, "I knew Andross was no good. I was convinced otherwise… because of my lack of skill, yet… I saw through his clouded mind; the nobles and highest… didn't." her voice was choppy.

I lowered my head,

"They didn't listen to me. I lost my planet because I gave up." She continued.

I looked at her; her face and fur were now soaked with tears.

"What are you saying?" I asked softly.

She swallowed, "I'm saying… that you didn't give up… you… told your troops to keep fighting for your cause. You gave them a reason to keep fighting. You shouldn't be ashamed of the only decisions you have."

I sighed; she was right. I shouldn't be ashamed over the fact that they died for a good cause. I shouldn't be ashamed of the fact that I had no choice.

I looked at her, "Thanks, Krystal." I then smiled slightly.

She nodded slightly.

Fox then came out and joined us.

"Hey, is everything all right?" He asked.

I looked at him, "Its fine, Fox."

He seemed confused.

Krystal then turned to him; I overheard what she told him.

"You caused him to flashback to that day we lost all those troops. Ever since then, he thinks he caused the deaths of those men and women. You bringing up the subject made him think worse." She said softly.

Fox then looked at me, "You thought you wasted those lives?" he asked softly and shockingly.

I nodded, "They were under my control. I should have called in a retreat when I had the chance." I said softly.

"Kevin, you had no choice. If you had retreated, the lives would have been wasted because you would have given up. But, you didn't… you stayed to the end to fight for Earth and for America." Fox said to me.

I nodded once more, "I see what you're saying."

Fox then smiled, "Good" he said, "I understand why you would feel this way."

I nodded again, "Thanks, Fox. Thanks, Krystal."

Fox then extended his hand. I grabbed it and leaned in for a half hug.

Krystal walked over and hugged me as well.

"Let's get back inside. You'll need some rest to shake off this shock." Fox said.

"Alright" I said softly.

I walked back towards the door with Krystal and Fox beside me. I was happy to have them as friends.

_To Be Continued… _

_How bout that ending? Like it? First time I wrote with that much feeling in it. And what a long chapter, 18 pages 0.0 _

_Anyway… favorite or follow the story if you liked it. Be awesome and cool…_

_Until next time…_


	9. Chapter 9: Australia

_Hello my awesome readers! I have some news! I have just created my blog on tumblr; I will post updates and other stuff on the blog frequently so you all know how progress is doing. I thought it would be a nice thing so you guys would know whether or not I'm working or taking a break. The blog is jon3s115 .tumblr .com; check it out! Anyway…_

_On with the story…_

**Chapter 9: Australia**

I opened my eyes and found myself in the cockpit of my Arwing. I looked around and saw nothing but blue sky, the horizon, and clouds below me. What was this? I examined the HUD and saw that it was identical to my Arwing.

"Well, it is mine." I said to myself.

I released the brake and started to move forward quickly. The area around me was so peaceful: a nice cloud cover below me, completely clear blue skies above me, the sun's heat on my skin as it radiated through the canopy; it was perfect. I took the chance and started to fly around freely and enjoy the peace that I was in. I flew around the open sky; performing loops, barrel rolls, and every other maneuver possible.

"Wow, this is amazing." I said to myself quietly.

I then flew to the cloud cover and saw many large formations that extended upward. I pulled the throttle back to slow down and calmly fly through the large canyon of clouds. I watched the large columns of clouds as I flew past each one of them. I was astonished at what I was seeing.

"I wonder where everyone is?" I asked myself.

I looked down and saw that my comms and radar were disabled. I turned them back on yet only received static on the comms and a 'no signal' message on the radar.

"Interesting" I pondered as I made the discovery.

I pulled up out of the clouds and into the open; I set my breaks so I could further investigate. After sitting for a second, I searched the frequencies; I found absolutely nothing.

"What the hell is this?" I asked myself quietly.

I started to look around and saw a small black dot off in the distance. I wondered what it was. The object gleamed in the sunlight and seemed to be moving.

"Is that coming to me?" I asked myself.

I was right, it was heading for me. The object continued getting closer and closer to me at incredible speeds. As it neared me, it started to take shape. It looked like another Arwing.

"Is that Fox?" I asked myself.

The Arwing got very close until it stopped completely. I tried to look into the cockpit, but the canopy was tinted to the point where you couldn't see in from outside.

I was getting a bit scared of this unknown pilot.

"What the hell?" I said.

Suddenly, I saw his twin laser cannons emerge; my heart started to race at this. Provoked by this action, I did the same and activated my twin laser systems.

I swallowed, "Make your move"

I gripped the controls tightly and waited for the being to do something. Then, just as I anticipated, he fired several bolts at me; I pulled the controls and tilted up, just barely avoiding the beams.

"All right bitch, let's go!" I yelled.

I pushed the throttle to max and sped towards the being. To my surprise, I saw that he was not moving at all.

"Uh-oh…" I said to myself.

I realized that going after him had left me open for another attack. The pilot fired several more times at me and landed each hit.

"Damn it!" I yelled.

I looked at my gauge and saw that he had taken my shields from a full 100% to a mere 36%.

"No…" I said in shock.

I looked behind me and saw that the pilot was now chasing after me. My brain then kicked in, I barrel rolled left and right, going lower and lower until I made it into the cloud cover.

"I can lose him here!" I said.

I was dead wrong; immediately, he opened fire again and barely missed me. I continued downward until I broke through the cover and caught a glimpse of the surface. I was in shock at the sudden sight.

"Holy….. shit…." I said in complete disbelief and shock.

The ground was covered in demolished buildings of Earth origin. Several skyscrapers were crumbling, some were completely destroyed, and others were barely standing. I looked around and found several familiar building. To my left were the White House and the buildings that surrounded it; to my left was the Washington Monument; half of it was gone and the rest was barely supported.

"What the hell happened?" I asked myself in a shaky voice.

I was then rocked my multiple lasers skimming my Arwing. These blasts knocked my shields down to 13%.

"Damn it!" I yelled.

I pulled back up and shot through the clouds. Once I exited the cover, I noticed something about the sky; it wasn't blue anymore. What the hell was going on? Instead of the blue, it was all brown and dark with a red sun.

I gasped at the sight, "What… the hell… is this?!" I yelled.

Suddenly, the enemy Arwing flew right past me. I looked at it and saw it turn around and face towards me.

"Shit" I said quietly.

I saw a blue light emit from the sides of his Arwing; they were flying right for me. I pushed the controls to go down, but they were unresponsive.

"WHAT?!" I yelled. I continued moving the controls; however I wasn't moving at all.

The blue light was getting bigger and bigger. It neared me at incredible speeds.

"NOOOOOOOO!" I yelled at the top of my lungs.

Suddenly, everything went black. After a second, my eyes opened.

"ARGH!" I yelled briefly.

I was sweating and breathing incredibly hard. The room I was in was a bit dark and cold. I quickly shot my head around in multiple directions until I slowly calmed down. I then slowly looked around and examined the room. It was small with a dresser next to the bed, I night stand to the left, and the door; not much was in here because it was a base. The door then suddenly flew open.

"What the hell happened?" yelled Fox as he burst through the door.

I was startled and shot my head in the direction of Fox. He had his pistol in his hand and looked as though he was ready to use it.

"…oh god…" I said quietly as I lowered my head into my hands.

"Are you okay, Kevin?" Fox asked me.

Suddenly, Krystal appeared behind Fox. She seemed a bit frantic.

"Where is he? Where's Kevin?" She said quickly.

Fox sighed, "Don't worry, he's right here."

I looked back up at the two. Krystal seemed incredibly worried.

Krystal pushed passed Fox and sat next to me on the bed.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

I slowly nodded. She placed her hand on me and closed her eyes. I wondered what she was doing.

"What are you-…" I was cut off.

"Shhh" she said quietly.

I felt her travel through my mind. After a while, she opened her eyes.

"It's a good thing you woke up at that time." She said.

I was confused as to why. It was only a nightmare.

"Why?" I asked.

"The pain that I sensed was just as strong as I had thought." She sighed, "You had a lucid dream. Your memory of the war and your belief of loss turned it into a nightmare, a deadly one."

What she said scared me, "Are you serious?"

She nodded, "That thing that chased you; if it had killed you in there, you may have died as well." She said.

Fox then walked in, "So you're saying Kevin could have died just now?"

I was shocked and scared; this was all getting to out of hand. Not only was this war fucking with my brain, but it was putting me in danger even when I'm not fighting!

"Damn" Fox continued.

Krystal then continued scanning my mind. She tried to erase any evil memory that I had; I could tell easily that this was her intention. After a minute, she opened her eyes.

"The memories are too vivid …I can't remove them." She said slowly.

I was a bit upset that I had to live with these now. I lowered my head, "So… what now?"

Fox shrugged, "I guess be careful."

Krystal nodded, "Don't worry; when I sleep, my mind reaches for anything. If I sense pain and fear from you, I will get you out of whatever dream is occurring."

I nodded, "Okay" I sighed, "I just want this bloody war to be over, I want Wolf's army gone, and I want him to be wiped out of existence." I said angrily.

Fox smiled, "You'll get your chance, but I can't make any promises."

I got up from the bed, "I might as well get ready." I looked over at the nearby clock; it read 8:34 a.m.

"Agreed, I'll get everyone up now." Fox said. He then walked out of the room.

I followed after him but was stopped by Krystal.

"Kevin" she said.

I looked back at her, "Yeah Krystal?"

She got up, "When we finish this war, I want you to visit me in my quarters. I can help you with these memories if they still exist after this."

I nodded and smiled, "Thanks"

Krystal was the nicest person I had ever known. She always asked if I needed any help, she always asked if I had troubles, and she always looked out for me ever since I joined. Even Fox was looking out for me, almost as if he was my brother.

I walked out of the room and into the little living area. I turned the lights on and walked over to the couch against the front wall. After a minute of sitting, Falco and Slippy both walked in from their rooms. Each room was separated by a door that connected to the living area.

"What was that?" Falco asked.

I shook my head, "It was nothing."

He looked surprised, "Really? Well I must have been dreaming." He then walked to the little kitchen.

"Whatever" I said as I sighed.

Slippy looked at Falco then at me, "Don't worry about him."

I nodded, "I know"

"Oh yeah; I finished the repairs on your suit. The helmet works flawlessly; your internal communicator is working just as fine as well. Also, your wrist communicator is fixed and your shields are done." He explained to me.

"Thanks Slip." I said quietly, "Where is it so I can get ready?"

He pointed to the door that led into the hangar, "On the workbench right when you walk out." He then walked to the little kitchen as well.

I got up and walked to the door that led into the hangar. I opened it and immediately saw the workbench with my armor on top of it. I walked over to it and grabbed the large suit.

"Awesome" I said.

I placed the armor standing up and then grabbed my wrist communicator. I slipped it on my wrist and entered the unlock command. The suit wiggled as the locks disengaged; the suit then raised the chest plate. I turned around and slipped my right foot into its appropriate socket, and then I did the same with my left foot. After that, I slipped my right hand through the arm and then my left through the left. I then leaned back and situated myself; I finished and the chest plate lowered down back into place. The locks then re engaged and my suit was ready for movement. I lowered my arms from their held up position and moved them around a bit to get used to the armor once more.

"Much better" I said.

I looked at my communicator and had it scan the armor for any flaws, just in case. After a few seconds, the scan came back with no flaws.

"Perfect" I said with joy.

I then walked back into the main room; everyone was already ready and prepped to go.

"Ready?" Fox asked as he got up.

I examined myself and checked. I put my hand next to my right thigh; the pistol holster then extended out with my pistol in it. I grabbed it and saw that it was at 100% charge. I then reached behind my waist; the grenade compartment opened and I felt three grenades waiting. Finally, I opened the side waist compartment; it opened and revealed the survival tools; a small fusion cutter, high density wire trimmers, and a small bottle of something called 'bio fluid'.

"Ready, but what is this?" I asked as I held the can up.

Slippy spoke up, "That's bio fluid; it's the same stuff that MAM used to heal your wounds a while back."

I nodded, "Oh okay"

I put the can back and closed the compartment.

"Oh yeah, you don't have to use the sensors for the compartments to open anymore. I was able to upgrade it and have you able to open them with your mind; just activate your helmet and think it." He explained.

"Whoa, seriously?" I surprised by what he said.

He nodded, "But it only works with the helmet."

"Okay, but that's still awesome." I said.

Fox smiled, "Alright then, let's get to the next base."

The five of us then walked out of the main door and outside to our ships. I walked over to my jet and climbed into it. Once I buckled in, I noticed a little note on my HUD. I grabbed it and read it, it said: 'Kevin, seeing as how you were nearly caught in that last explosion, I upgraded the ship as well with some vertical thrusters I found here. They aren't of Corneria tech, but they still will work.'

I smiled; I thought I loved Slippy now. He just made everything much easier; armor upgrades, maintenance, and a jet upgrade.

I started the engines and the main computer systems as well as the comms. I looked back up and saw that the rest were ready to take off. I activated the vertical thrusters and slowly lifted off of the ground; it was basically like the Harrier jump jet. After a minute, I was high enough to fire the main engines. I pushed the throttle and flew forward as well as deactivate the vertical thrusters.

"Wow, Slippy really upgraded that thing." Fox said over the comms.

I looked behind me and saw the rest of the team catching up quickly. Fox made it to the front while Slippy, Krystal, Falco, and I stayed to the rear.

"Fox" Slippy suddenly said.

"Yeah Slip?" He replied.

I looked at the HUD and the team feeds, "The satellite concluded that the next base is abandoned as well. Our next target should be the base in Australia."

"Oh… okay then." Fox replied.

"So Wolf really has no troops?" Falco asked.

I chuckled, "Hey, I'm perfectly fine with that."

"Alright, let's head for Australia. Slippy, send us the coordinates." Fox said.

Slippy seemed to type a few things, "All done, the coordinates have been sent to your radars."

Fox then banked hard to the right. The rest of us easily followed after him.

"Double time it, guys. Let's finish this base before Wolf can power his army anymore." Fox said as he instantly accelerated to incredible speeds.

I pushed the throttle to max and followed after him along with Falco, Krystal, and Slippy. A bit later, we reached Australia. The radar told us that we were only twenty miles from the next enemy base.

"Looks like we're close" I said as I looked at the radar.

"Let's give them everything we got!" Fox said.

We neared the base quickly, and soon we saw how big and defended it was. The base was about the size of a typical Cornerian base and it was heavily fortified. There were turrets surrounding the walls and there were hundreds of enemy ships flying around.

"Holy damn!" I said in shock.

Falco chuckled, "Psh, piece of cake."

"No doubt" Krystal agreed.

I was a bit surprised as to how they were so confident about this attack, but I just went with it.

"Let's blow some shit up, guys!" Fox said as we sped towards the base.

"Woo!" I yelled.

I pushed the throttle forward and went for the base. As we neared the base, the turrets and enemy fighters opened fire on us. At this, I activated my helmet and prayed for the best.

"Scanning…" The helmet message read, "Multiple counts of hostiles, engage immediately!" the message said.

I barrel rolled to the left and headed towards the ground. I was about 100 feet off when I pulled up. I looked back and saw that a few fighters that had tailed me crashed into the ground.

"Wow, I didn't even plan for that." I said in surprise.

I pulled back up and fired into the large cluster of enemy fighters that flew back and forth. I picked out a small group of three fighters and chased after them. I spun 180 degrees and pulled up to follow after them. As soon as I locked into the chase, I opened fire and took one of them out. I laughed at how bad these pilots were.

"Damn they suck!" I yelled.

Suddenly, I was hit a few times by a lone fighter that was behind me. I looked back and saw that he was a bit skilled at chasing; nonetheless, I evaded him by looping around. I exited the loop and finished him and the remaining two ships from the group.

"Got four already!" I said.

"Don't get cocky now." Fox said.

I pulled up and found another group of three. I continued pulling until I faced the group; I then pushed to the left to roll back around. Once I was ready, I fired multiple times at the group; I missed each shot.

"Ooo, lucky little freaks" I said.

I continued firing until I was hit by multiple lasers from below.

"I'll be back for you!" I said as I rolled upside down and pulled the control stick. I was now flying towards the ground.

I neared the floor and then pulled up while firing relentlessly. As I headed back up, I looked back and saw the row of destruction that I had just made. I looked around and saw a small group begin chasing me. I rolled to the left and to the right and shook their aim a bit; once the opening was clear, I killed my speed and had the jet flip 360 degrees vertically. Once I was level again, I pushed the thruster to the max and chased after the group that was behind me. I locked onto them and destroyed each one without ceasing my fire.

"Radar is showing that there are only a few enemy signatures left." Slippy said over the comms.

"Great, once we get the airborne fighters, we'll head down and take out the core." Fox said.

Out of nowhere, I hear this voice that was deep and scratchy.

"I don't think so, Star Fox." The voice said.

I was a bit startled, "Um… what the hell was that?"

"Me, you idiot!" The voice said.

I looked around, "Can't really see you guy."

"I see him! Out on the eastern horizon!" Slippy said.

I looked to my left and saw a gleaming white dot. As if no time passed, the ship was in our flying space.

"Holy shit that thing is fast!" I yelled.

"Everyone, get out of here. Re group back to HQ; Lord O'Donnell's orders." The voice said.

I watched as the remaining enemy ships fled towards China; there was even escape transports leaving the base. I found Fox stopped, facing the unknown enemy. I flew by him and stopped right next to him. Krystal, Falco and Slippy quickly followed.

"Who are you?" Fox demanded.

The enemy ship was similar to what the Wolfen looked like; the only difference being four equally long wings and a completely white hull with gray wings.

The pilot chuckled, "That is none of your concern; all you need to know is that I have been sent to kill you."

"I wasn't asking, I was demanding!" Fox then barked.

The pilot sighed, "Very well, if you must know." He cleared his throat, "I am Aaron Michaels, ace pilot of the Marauders."

"The what?" Falco asked.

"The Marauders; we are Wolf's special forces, specially trained by Lord O'Donnell himself." Michaels explained, "You may call me X, though. It sounds much better than my real name."

I shook my head, "That Wright person must be on this team."

"Robert? Yes, he is the team leader. I myself am quite surprised that he did not kill you the first and the second time. I guess I'll just have to do his job for him." explained Michaels.

I laughed, "Come on now, he couldn't kill me, what makes you think you have a better chance?"

Michaels chuckled, "Simple, I have the element of surprise!" he yelled before his ship vanished.

"Oh shit" Fox said, "Everyone, split up now!"

Michaels laughed, "I should also tell you that this base is a ticking time bomb!"

"WHAT?!" Fox and I yelled in sync.

"Oh right, I didn't tell you." Michaels acted surprised, "A nuclear bomb has been set to blow at the base below us; even if I fail, you all will die right here."

Fox gasped, "You crazy bastard!"

Michaels just chuckled.

"Slippy, scan the base and get a timer, NOW!" Fox yelled.

Slippy frantically spoke, "Already on it. I sent the data to you all."

A timer then appeared next to Michaels shield gauge, it read ten minutes.

"Oh crap! Ten minutes?!" I yelled.

Michaels just laughed.

I tried looping a few times to throw off the invisible ships aim.

"Keep an eye out, he can't stay hidden forever." Fox said frantically.

"I also scanned his ship and gathered the data for his shields; bringing it up now." Slippy said as I saw a separate shield gauge appear on my HUD.

"Peek-a-boo!" Michaels yelled as he re appeared behind me.

My jet rocked furiously as I was hit multiple times by his highly advanced hyper laser systems.

"I'll get him!" Falco yelled.

I looked behind me and saw Falco land several hits as he flew by.

"Argh!" Michaels yelled, "You annoying little bird!" His ship then disappeared once more.

"Falco, watch yourself! He may go for you!" I said quickly.

Michaels chuckled, "Very smart, I can see why Wright failed at your assassination."

I banked left and pulled up hard until I found Falco. I stopped turning and prepped to fire behind him, just in case Michaels stayed on Falco; sure enough, he did. As soon as he re appeared, I opened fire and landed several hits; his shield gauge was at 45% now.

"Damn you!" He yelled.

Falco gave a sigh of relief, "Thanks Kev."

I nodded, "No problem."

Just then, Michaels disappeared once again.

Krystal suddenly yelled, "Kevin, pull up NOW!"

I did as she said and pulled up. Just as my ship pointed up, I saw Michaels appear and open fire right in front of me.

He sighed, "Well, that's no fair; you have a telepath on your team. At least she hasn't figured everything out!"

Krystal gasped, "How… how did you know?"

"Forget him Krystal, just focus on killing him." Fox said to keep Krystal from lowering her guard.

"Right" She replied.

At the mid-point of the loop, I rolled around and leveled myself. I then opened fire on Michaels. I hit him only once; his shields now being at 43%.

"You guys are tougher than I thought!" He said as I hit him.

Slippy suddenly yelled, "We have three minutes!"

Michaels pulled up and U-turned; afterwards he disappeared yet again.

Krystal spoke again, "He's heading for you, Slippy!"

Michaels grunted, "Really now, you're just no fun!"

He then re appeared behind Krystal and fired multiple times at her.

"Argh!" She yelled as she was hit.

I banked right and pulled up and aimed for Michaels' ship; Fox was already heading for him as well. As soon as I opened fire, Fox did as well. We both hit him several times.

"God damn you all!" Michaels yelled.

I continued following after him and continuously laid a barrage of lasers on him. His gauge dropped to 23%, then to 20%, then to 12%, then to 0%. He was defenseless now.

"Finish him, Kevin!" Fox yelled.

Michaels, knowing of his fate, spoke up in a crude tone, "You'll never stop Wolf! This entire planet will burn to fucking ashes! Do you hear me?!"

I laughed, "I did"

I fired several more times and hit him. Michaels' ship was now in flames; I felt excitement build up inside of me.

"We're done here, bitch!" I yelled as I finished Michaels off with the final shot. His ship exploded into a fiery explosion.

"AARRGGGHH!" Michaels yelled as his ship was torn apart by the explosion.

I pulled the throttle back completely and came to stop; the rest of the team did the same.

"Great job Kevin!" Fox said.

"Warning! Nuclear activity detected! One minute to explosion!" The computer said.

"Oh shit!" I yelled.

I then pushed the throttle to max and followed after the rest of the team. I looked back and saw a huge black cloud shoot up into the sky, followed by a bright light and the shockwave. My jet rocked greatly but didn't spin out of control.

"That was close" Fox said as we escaped the blast radius.

Falco sighed, "How many weapons did these guys bring? I mean really, that's the second nuke that nearly got us!"

I intervened, "Actually, the first was because of Cruz. This was the first that Wolf used; it was probably just the core and not a nuke at all."

Slippy agreed, "Yeah, most likely."

Fox sighed, "It doesn't matter, what does is that Marauders group. They could be a problem."

I looked down at Fox's feed, "They are a problem; the rest of them may be held up at Wolf's base."

Krystal nodded, "Yes, I'm sure Wolf has them guarding his base."

"Either way, we need to be more careful next time." Fox added, "The next base may be swarming with enemies."

I then spoke up, "Where is the next base?"

Slippy spoke up, "Radar shows that the next inhabited base is in Japan. The only one inhabited there, after that we should go around China and hit the two bases in Europe."

"Good plan, Slip." Fox said, "Let's head to Japan and take out that base."

All five of us then accelerated and headed straight for Japan. We were getting closer and closer to ending this damn war.

_To be Continued…_

_I love finishing another chapter. Anyway be sure to check out the blog so you all can know about the progress and other things. _

_Leave a review on your thoughts of the book so I know what to improve on. _

_Until next time…_


	10. Chapter 10: The Unexpected Guest

_PLEAS READ: Last chapter, it came to my attention that several aspects of the chapter were similar to things that already existed; I did not intend for ANY of that, it was sheer luck that I somehow wrote similar things; I never played Ace Combat and I have never heard of 'Black Suns'. Anyway, be sure to follow the blog for updates on this book and all my future books! The blog name (on weebly) is Science-Fiction Stories (sciencefictionstories. weebly. com). There are obviously no spaces. _

_On with the story…_

**Chapter 10: The Unexpected Guest **

The five of us immediately went after the Japan base. We figured the faster we did it, the faster this war would end. Our plan was very simple, go in and destroy the core; exactly like the base in Africa.

"Alright, just like the last base; Kevin and Falco will head to the surface and sabotage the base by planting the charges. Krystal, Slippy, and I will stay in the air and provide cover." Fox said over the comm.

I nodded, "Seems easy to me."

Falco agreed, "That's the spirit, Kev! We'll get it done in no time."

Krystal sighed, "Just be careful, you two; I sense a great accumulation of soldiers at the base waiting. They may even over run us."

Fox argued, "Don't worry about it; we'll get it done."

Krystal nodded as well, "Okay, but still be careful."

The five of us were coming over a large hill that covered our view. When we came over, I saw the base off in the distance. It wasn't as big as the last one, but it was still large.

"There it is!" I said as I pointed out in front of me.

Fox nodded, "Good eyes" he cracked his neck, "Let's get to work"

We then sped towards the base and opened fire on it. They had no idea of out arrival in any way, they seemed completely unprepared.

"Take out the hangars before they launch any additional fighters!" Fox said.

I banked right and found one of the hangars; I lined my sights and destroyed the entire building with one fly-by.

"That's one down!" I said as I looked back and saw the building crumble.

I pulled up and U-turned back into the fight; there were a few patrol squads in the air fighting. I realized the lack of troops and wondered greatly about what was happening. At the same time, I found a pair of fighters and chased after them.

"Um… where are all the troops? There's hardly any laser fire coming from the turrets and there are barely any fighters." I said in confusion.

Krystal asked the same thing, "Good question; where are they?"

Fox smirked, "It doesn't matter, just finish these patrol squads off so we can get Falco and Kevin into the base."

I was about to open fire on the enemy fighters that were in front of me when Krystal suddenly gasped.

"Wait!" She said. She then said something very faint under her breath, I however was able to make out what she said, "Impossible"

I was startled at the sudden yell and I looked down at the HUD and saw that she was in shock.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She shook her head and snapped out of her trance, "Kevin, Falco, get in that base NOW. We'll take the fighters."

I was really confused as to what was happening. We hadn't finished the fighters; they could call back up if we landed, or worse, take us out right then and there.

"Uh… there are still fighters; they'll just take us out when we land!" Falco said.

Krystal seemed frustrated, "Just do it! In the base; head to the lower floors."

I broke off of the lock I had on the two fighters and headed for the base.

"Why?" I asked with confusion.

She grunted, "You'll see why!"

Displeased with my answer, I decided to go no further and just find a landing spot.

"According to the intel, the core is located in that large building in the center." Slippy exclaimed.

I landed right in front of the building entrance and waited for Falco. As soon as he landed, I opened the cockpit and jumped out and onto the ground. I looked at him as he jumped out of his Arwing as well.

"Kinda blind when we have no idea why we're going in so early." Falco said.

I nodded, "Yeah, well she is a telepath, its best we listen to her."

I then looked at the large building; it looked like a typical business building with multiple floors extending several stories high.

"Better hurry, she seemed like the inside of this place was pretty damn important." I said as I reached down to my holster. The holster extended out as usual, granting me access to my pistol; I grabbed it and pointed it out in front of towards the entrance. I then activated my helmet.

Falco shook his head, "I don't know, I kinda need to know what to expect."

Krystal suddenly came over the comms, "You'll see why I can't tell you when you get to the core!"

I sighed greatly, "Oh that doesn't sound good."

Falco shook his head, "Whatever, let's just get this over with." He then pulled out his D-50 rifle from the side compartment on his Arwing.

I looked back at the entrance and started to slowly walk towards it. Falco was doing the same, with his rifle raised and pointed at the door. As we walked towards it, we heard the wail of the Arwings as they passed over us and the wail of the lasers as they fired off in the air.

When I reached the door, I opened it and saw that it was completely empty; I was exaggerating, it was empty. The room had a very high roof and was literally empty except for two beams supporting the roof and a gray door in the back corner. I was not only getting more nervous by the second, but I was also becoming more scared of what Krystal said.

"What the hell?" I asked as I saw the room.

Falco walked passed me and entered the room.

"What?" He said in surprise.

I looked down at my communicator, "Slippy, send me the map of the building to my helmet HUD."

"I'm on it; should show up any time now." He replied.

Suddenly, a small mini map with a 3D map of the building appeared right over the mini map. It zoomed out and was placed over me; I was a yellow arrow, Falco was the blue one.

"Thanks Slippy." I said.

"No problem" He replied, "I should tell you that the turrets just now opened fire on us. The soldiers inside the base may know of you being in the building." He explained.

Falco shrugged, "If they know of us then we don't have to go all stealth."

I nodded, "True; thanks anyway." I ended the comm line and raised my blaster once more.

"Where is the core anyway?" Falco asked.

I looked at the map that I had on my HUD. According to it, the core was on sub-level 3; right below the storing floor for all the power cells.

"Sub level 3" I said.

"Great, let's go." Falco replied.

The two of us jogged over to the gray door and pressed the button that was next to it; the door was obviously an elevator. As soon as the 'ding' sounded, I placed my finger on the switch to activate the Wave. The door opened and revealed no one inside.

Falco must have seen me ready myself, "Don't worry, I'm not gonna fall for that again."

He then entered the elevator; I followed after him and closed the door. I looked for the button that read -3 and pressed it. The elevator immediately moved downward. As soon as it started to move, Krystal came over the comms.

"Listen to me" She said seriously, "Whatever you do, do not look him in the eyes!"

Falco and I were both absolutely confused at what Krystal had just said.

"Excuse me?" I replied.

She seemed more worried now, "Just don't; Falco, don't look him in the eye. Kevin, keep your helmet on!"

The connection then cut out and was lost.

"Shit" I said under my breath.

"I hear ya" Falco replied.

I shook my head, "What the hell are we about to find?"

The elevator suddenly stopped on the wrong floor. It stopped on sub level 2. I looked at Falco, who had looked at me as well. We then both looked back towards the door and raised our weapons.

"Shoot!" Falco yelled.

The two of us then riddled the elevator doors with plasma holes. When the doors opened, we were stunned to see that no one was standing there or on the ground dead.

"Huh?" I said in confusion.

Falco shook his head slowly, "Somethin aint right here."

The elevator door then closed without either of us pressing any of the buttons. Something was definitely wrong.

I looked at Falco, "Did you press that?"

He shook his head, "Nah, I though you did." He replied.

The elevator then started to move down again, this time at a much faster pace. The both of us knew that something bad was afoot. When the elevator stopped, the both of us raised our weapons and prepped for what was behind the door. It slid open and revealed another large room similar to that of the previous base.

"What the hell?" I said in complete confusion.

The two of us then walked out of the elevator and into the core room. There were hardly any computer terminals surrounding the center core; Wolf must have seen this as useless and destroyed it.

"Is that the core?" I asked as I pointed to the large center tower.

Falco nodded, "That's it" He said as he started to walk towards it.

"Not… so… fast" A voice said.

I heard Krystal in my head, "Don't look in his eyes and keep your helmet on!"

Falco spoke up, "Who's there?"

Suddenly, a white furred fox emerged from the other side of the core. He had on a suit of armor that was white and blue and a bit thicker than mine.

"Falco, don't look at him directly!" I said.

The fox continued walking slowly around the core until he was on the side we were on. As he reached the side we were on, he raised his head and looked at the two of us. He had a large scare on the left side of his face and a gray stripe running between his two ears. He also had a very eerie smile on his face.

"I'm so glad that you could join me." He said in his low toned voice.

I kept the helmet on and looked at the being while Falco looked away from him.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked.

The fox laughed, "That doesn't matter in any way, what does matter is your death." He then reached to his sides and grabbed two daggers from the thigh holsters.

"So, no intro?" I asked.

The fox kept his odd smile, "Why should I? You'll die anyway."

I shrugged, "I'm just saying it would be nice to know."

The fox then wiped the smile off of his face and turned it into a frown, "Enough!" he yelled, "I want this to be easy; just surrender and I'll kill you swiftly."

I shook my head and smiled in my helmet, "I don't think so."

I then charged at the fox and swung left then right; astonishingly, he effortlessly dodged both swings. I didn't stop, after that I brought my fist down then forcefully pulled it up; the fox still dodged the blow effortlessly. After that, I spun around and brought my leg up and attempted to kick his head; he still dodged it. Once I came back around, I kneeled down and tried to sweep his feet from under him; again, he dodged by sliding back away from my leg span. I rose back to my feet astonished.

"What?" I said in shock.

The fox chuckled and then threw his fist into my face. I flew back from the force and hit the ground hard. I slid towards Falco and stopped next to him. When I stopped, I looked up at him as he looked at me.

"What the hell is he gonna do." Falco said as he turned around and faced the fox.

"No… FALCO WAIT!" I yelled as I figured out what was happening.

I looked back and saw the fox walking slowly to me, at the same time, Falco dropped to his knees as he yelled in agony.

"FALCO!" I yelled.

I knew exactly what was happening. This freak was telepathic and had similar abilities to that of Krystal; he was using it as an offensive move.

I heard Krystal scream in pain in my head, "Argh! FALCO!"

I coughed, "Damn it, this guy's a telepath!" I thought to Krystal.

Krystal quickly spoke, "Kevin, think of nothing but emptiness and darkness. He won't be able to move past it if you focus hard enough. Then give your helmet to Falco so he can fight."

I got up to my feet and charged towards the fox, he sidestepped and I ran right by him, completely throwing my fist into the air. Just as I threw my fist, I deactivated my helmet and continued running towards Falco, who was still on the ground; I used this mistake to assist Falco. When I reached him, I re activated my helmet but had it stay unlocked, once it engaged, I removed it from my head and placed it next to Falco. I continued running and turned around, running back to the fox. I thought of complete blackness and threw my fist at the fox; to my surprise, I hit him right in the muzzle.

The fox grunted as I hit him with all my might. He was knocked back and landed on the ground hard.

"Impossible" he said quietly.

I then set myself in my fighting stance and focused on complete darkness. The fox got back up slowly and continued looking at me. It seemed as though he was trying to scan my mind.

"Don't try it; I know how to keep you out." I said harshly.

He nodded, "Very good, but it won't help you." He said as he started to charge right to me.

When the fox neared me, Falco appeared from my right and hit the fox in the side of the face with a forceful punch. The fox spun into the air and landed hard once more.

He got back up laughing, "Hahahaha, you think you can win?" he continued laughing, "It won't happen" He said as he stopped laughing.

The fox then suddenly charged at Falco, hitting him directly in the helmet. Falco was pushed back, but as he flinched, the fox threw his arm around and hit Falco again in the side. The fox then spun around and kicked Falco in his side. After that, he finished it off with a great uppercut. Falco was then thrown into the air.

I watched in complete horror as this all happened in only a second. The fox regained from his uppercut and faced me. I charged for him and threw several punches to his face and his abdomen; he dodged each shot. After I brought back my fist, the fox swung with his right fist; I was thankfully able to raise my arms and block it. His right fist flew back and his left came around; I threw my arms up once more and blocked the hit. As his fist flew back, he followed it and spun around, bringing his right foot up and straight to my face. Just when he hit my face, he brought his foot down and kicked my abdomen with his left foot. I was hit both times greatly and flew back.

"KEVIN!" I heard Krystal yell.

My vision was all blurry as I tried to get back up. I got as far as lifting myself up with my hands and knees, but fell back down from the pain. I looked up and saw the fox walking towards me, in the back I saw Falco struggling to get back up. As I looked at Falco, the fox grabbed my pistol that I had dropped and walked back over to me. He raised it to my head and laughed.

"You disgust me." The fox said.

I felt fear build up in me as I knew of my impending doom. I closed my eyes and waited for the sound of the blaster to go off. But, however, it didn't sound. Instead, I heard a loud grunt and the sound of two bodies landing on the ground. I opened my eyes and saw Falco on top of the fox and repeatedly punching him. Falco was not wearing the helmet. After he had thrown a few punches, he fell to the side and yelled in pain once more.

"You BITCH!" I yelled as I tackled the fox. He didn't fall, rather he slid back. AS he slid, I spun around and kicked him in the abdomen. He then flew back and landed on the ground.

"Doesn't feel good, eh?" I yelled.

I had complete anger built up in me; my only thought was to kill this damn freak. I looked over at Falco.

"Falco, get the hell out of here. I'll take this guy!" I yelled.

Falco got up while shaking, "No, you can't face him by yourself." He said in a shaky voice.

I was getting annoyed now, "Falco, don't do to me what that soldier did. Don't disobey what I say and die on me. JUST GO!"

Falco then nodded and headed for the elevator. I readied myself in my stance once more and watched as the fox slowly got up to his feet. When he finally did get up, Falco had already left the room and back to the surface.

I walked over to my helmet and put it back on my head. I engaged the locks and readied myself once more.

"Let's dance" I said.

"AAAAAHHH" The fox yelled as he charged at me.

I sidestepped and allowed him to pass me. When he did, I extended my leg and tripped the running fox; he almost fell. As he regained his balance, he ran back towards me and hit me in the side of the helmet with a right hook. I jerked my head right from the hit and then felt another hit head on. I was knocked onto the ground by the force. As I hit the ground, I quickly stumbled to get back up. I stood up but was unable to get my stance and regain my balance in time; the fox drew his two daggers and repeatedly slashed at my face. The daggers were incredibly sharp; as if it were butter, my helmet had two cuts on the visor. The HUD deactivated and I was left with yellow tinted vision. I continued backing up and dodging the slashes until I was able to throw my fist into his face. As he stumbled back from the force, I deactivated my helmet since it was useless.

As the helmet was deactivating, I was punched head on by the fox. I was hit so hard that I flew back and hit my head on the ground. I force was so great that the wind was knocked right out of me. I flipped over slowly and painfully to face the fox that was slowly walking towards me. I tried to focus on him, but I only saw a blur and feel complete numbness overtake my body. Just as he reached down for me, my eyes closed and everything went black.

I lost all track of time and woke up in a cell-like room with bars. I slowly regained my vision and noticed that my armor was missing. I shook my head and was able to see more clearly. I looked around and saw that the cell was small and had concrete walls except for one being made of metal bars. I attempted to get up, but was disappointed to see that my legs were connected to chains; they linked to the metal bars.

I slowly walked up to the bars and grabbed them. I looked down the long hall in both directions. Across from my cells was another cell, except it was empty. I looked through the bars and saw my armor, completely destroyed and mangled beyond repair.

"Shit" I said to myself. I only had my black under armor suit.

Just as I said this, I heard a pair of doors slide open in the distance. I immediately sat back down in my chair and waited for someone to appear in front of the bars. After a minute passed, the same white fox, accompanied by two guards; one being a tiger, the other a leopard, walked in front of the cell and stopped. He faced me and gave me the same eerie grin he had when I first saw him.

"I thought you said you were going to kill me?" I said trying to hide my fear.

The fox chuckled, "I did, but Lord O'Donnell has better plans for you." He chuckled even more, "And don't try to pretend you're not scared." He walked away and left the two guards with me.

"Prepare him for transportation." He said as he walked away.

The pair of doors slammed once more. As the doors closed, the two guards aimed their rifles at me. Both of them were wearing black armor and a visor. One of them grabbed an I.D card and scanned it against the cell door. I saw this as my chance to get away; just like the first time, I would attack and subdue the two guards. The only challenge would be hiding my thoughts; I was greatly frightened so it was hard to think of nothing. Nonetheless, I concentrated greatly on emptiness and darkness. As soon as the first guard entered, the second followed. The first grabbed a pair of keys and unlocked the two chains on my feet; the second guard having his rifle pointed at me.

"So, you two are soldiers of Wolf's army?" I asked.

"Quiet!" The second guard yelled.

I kept the emotionless look on my face, "Well, that's not very nice."

The guard yelled once more, "I said quiet!"

I closed my eyes and readied myself.

"No, you know what? You be quiet!" I yelled.

I then darted for the second guard and knocked the rifle out of his hands. Once his rifle was airborne, I swung my fist around for a left hook. When I hit him, I turned around and knocked the first guard's gun out of his hands as well. This time, I grabbed the rifle while it was mid-fall and smashed the guard's face with the butt of the rifle. I then pointed it at the two guards and grabbed their I.D cards and keys. I slowly walked back out of the cell and watched as both guards slowly got up from the sudden attack. The first guard had a bloody face, while the second was holding his head.

"Nice try guys." I said as I lowered the rifle.

I then slammed the door shut and engaged the lock. I looked down both directions of the long hallway. At the end was a door with the word 'Exit' over it. I then started a full sprint down to the door. As I was running, I heard the two guards yell at me from behind. I reached the door and grabbed one of the I.D cards I had stolen. The card I pulled out said "Victor Garnez". He was the leopard.

I looked back down the hall and yelled, "Thanks Victor!"

I then heard a very vulgar response, "Fuck off!" Victor yelled back.

I shook my head and scanned the card on the door. It slid open and revealed a wider hallway with multiple doors on each side. On the right were three doors spread all the way down to the end, the left only had one door.

"Maybe I can get something from this place." I said to myself. I walked to the single door on the left and read the sign that was on it: 'Research'. I was a bit happy to see that, "Maybe there's some gear here!"

I scanned the card on the door, "Access Denied"

I was shocked, "What?" I scanned it again, "Access Denied."

I looked back down the way and saw that the door to the cells was still open, "Fuck you, Victor!" I yelled.

Victor just screamed back, "Aaaahhh whatever!"

I grabbed the second card. This one had the name 'Daniel Howard' on it. He was the tiger. I scanned it on the door.

"Access Denied." The computer said once more.

"You too, Daniel!" I yelled.

I scanned it again, "Access Denied"

I bowed my head, "Damn it"

I then raised my rifle and aimed it at the lock. If I wasn't getting in the fair way, then I would cheat. I fired several bolts at the lock until it fell off. Once it did, I slid the door open and found a large lab. Wolf must have used this base for research and basic production. I slowly walked in and found that it was empty. The only things that were in the lab were lots of tables with some kind of machinery on them. I continued walking around until I found a large glass case attached to the left side wall. I walked over to it and saw that a metallic cover was hiding whatever was in it. I pulled out Victor's card and scanned it on the little pad next to the display.

"Access Denied; senior class mechanic engineer's only." The computer said.

"Damn it" I said quietly.

I searched for an alternative and found that the touch pad also had a key pad on it. I decided to pay Victor and Daniel a visit. I was sure that they would know the code.

I headed back out into the hallway and back into the cell room. I then jogged down to the cell that the two guards were sitting in. Both of them looked up at me.

"What's the code?" I asked with seriousness in my voice.

The two looked at each other.

"Don't act stupid; what's the code for the classified display case?" I said again.

One of them spoke, "How the hell should we know?"

I recognized his voice, it was Victor, "Well, Victor, the only way you two are going to live is to give me that code. I'm dead serious and extremely pissed off right now."

Daniel then spoke up, "Let me contact one of the scientists. I can get the code for you then."

I didn't like what he had just told me; the only feeling going through me was distrust and anger. Seeing as how I had no choice, I handed him one of the communicators, which I stole, through the bars. He grabbed it and contacted one of the senior scientists.

"This is Daniel, do you copy?" He said.

A voice was heard on the other end, "What is it? Is something wrong?"

Daniel looked at me, I had the rifle pointed at his head, "Nothing is wrong, I just need the code for the case."

"Why" The voice replied.

Daniel cleared his throat, "Well, we need to check for any malfunctions."

The voice responded quickly, "Alright alright" the voice then cleared his throat as well, "6-8-5-5-9"

Daniel then closed his eyes, "Thank you, sir." He then cut the transmission.

"I'll take that back now." I said as I grabbed the communicator back from him.

I looked back down the hall and notice that there was another guard looking at the open lab door. At the site, I immediately jumped to the side and opened the opposite cell room's door. I then quickly ran inside and waited.

Daniel and Victor looked at me as though I was crazy.

"Say anything and I'll kill both of you." I whispered. I looked down and saw my mangled armor in pieces. The only thing that was still the same was my combat knife that I had forgotten to give back to Falco. I quickly and quietly grabbed it. I also grabbed the knife holster and strapped it onto my waist.

I poked my head around the corner and saw the guard walking in to the lab. Once he was inside, I started to quietly jog down the hall and into the next one. I reached the door and slowly poked my head inside; the guard was busy looking at one of the tables. I slowly placed my rifle onto the ground a pulled out my combat knife. I slowly walked up behind the guard.

Once I was within grabbing distance, I raised my knife. I grabbed the guards left shoulder, spun him around quickly, and then slashed his throat; just before I slashed, I closed my eyes to shield myself from the sight. He fell to the ground, gurgling with blood in his mouth. I turned around and opened my eyes once more. Once the guard stopped gurgling, I headed for the key pad.

"6-8-5-5-9" I said as I pressed the keys.

"Access Granted" The computer said.

The metallic cover that was inside the case lifted slowly. Once it was completely lifted, I saw something that would potentially save my life.

"Oh shit!" I said in excitement.

In the case was a black suit of armor. This one was a bit different than my previous blue one; this suit was a bit thicker, the neck was protected by the armor in the back, and there were hardly any plates; it was an exoskeleton suit. Next to the suit were my communicator and the Wave.

"Hell... yes" I said.

I slid the glass open; this triggered a mechanism that slowly lowered the suit onto the ground. Once it was on the ground, the chest opened up and the legs opened as well. I turned around and slowly stepped into the suit; thankfully it fit me just like my last suit. Once I was in it, the chest and legs closed and movement was enabled. A sudden weight was put on me from the disengaging of the locks, but I quickly caught it and felt that it wasn't even heavy.

I laughed, "This is sick."

I examined myself and saw that suit was basically the same thickness as my last suit; the only difference is the added protection to the back of my neck.

Satisfied with what I found, I turned around and grabbed the communicator and the Wave. I slipped the communicator onto my right wrist and the Wave onto my waist. Once I was settled, I walked out of the lab and back into the cell hallway. I was going to show the two guards what I found. I reached the cell and saw their faces fill with shock.

"You guys earned your lives." I said.

The two guards continued looking at me. They were obviously shocked at what I had found. I lifted my communicator and scanned the suit for exact details.

The computer stared to speak, "According to scans; current body armor is made of high density Denzium and Chrozonian. Both of these materials are of the hardest and most dense materials found in Lylat. Another factor found during scan is several compartments that are accessible through telepathic communication."

"Damn it, I'm not telepathic." I said.

"However, suit helmet is designed to link to the users brain, allowing it to access these compartments." The computer continued, "Helmet is equipped with three different visors; a battle visor that shows ammo of current weapon, a mini map if uploaded, and suit integrity. Helmet also is equipped with a thermal visor that shows thermal signatures through walls and through smoke. And finally, an infrared visor; this visor is allows a direct feed to anything hacked, access to door panels that are otherwise inaccessible, and ability to see direction most enemies are facing and aiming." The computer finished.

Victor chuckled, "The hell have the scientist been working on?"

I sighed, "This is obviously a suit for that fox." I cracked my neck, "If you'll excuse me, I have to get the hell out of here."

I then jogged back down the hall and into the opposite hallway. Once I entered it, I ran to the door at the end of it. I opened the door and found that it was a storage room. I was about to leave, when something caught my eye; there a little case with a pistol that I had never seen before in it. I walked in and grabbed the pistol from inside the case. It did not look like a standard D-40 pistol; this one had some sort of extension that looked like claws attached to it, it also had a different type of energy cell, and it was skinnier, longer, and seemed as though it were powerful.

"What an odd gun." I said to myself. I thought of the pistol compartment opening, sure enough a little holster appeared from my left thigh. I placed the pistol in it and closed the holster. Once I did that, I walked out.

I looked to my right and saw that the hallway continued in that direction. I started to walk down that way until I found a door that said 'Server Room'.

"Perfect" I said as I activated the new helmet. The visor on it was a different shape; instead of an upside down rhombus shape, this one had a more V like shape to it.

"Switch to Infrared Visor." I said. My vision then went from full color to black and white.

A message then displayed on my HUD, "Vocal activation is not required."

I put the message aside and scanned the door panel. The visor was able to hack through it and grant me access.

"This suit is the shit." I said quietly.

The door slid open and revealed a room with computers and terminals everywhere. In the center was a large device that seemed to serve as the main computer. I scanned the device and was greeted to an array of files.

"Ah, sir, I see you're testing the new suit!" A voice said from behind me.

I quickly turned around and saw a scientist standing in the doorway. Confused and unaware of what to do, I nodded my head.

"How is it treating you? Is the telepathic connection working as thought? The scientist asked.

I nodded and opened the pistol holster; almost immediately I closed it.

The scientist smiled, "Terrific!" he said with joy, "What about the speech?"

My heart sank at those words; should I just kill him now, or wing it? I decided to go with my gut and wing it.

"Uh… I think it works fine." I said in an accent that matched the fox's.

The scientist nodded, "Very good; I can see that all this funding has certainly paid off."

"Of course" I replied.

The scientist then looked at his glass clipboard; it was basically a transparent piece of glass with touch capability and images.

"I must go now; I'm late for a meeting." The scientist said, "Oh and should I check on that fellow that you caught for Lord O'Donnell?"

My heart rate spiked and I started to sweat, "No, no, that's perfectly fine. I just checked with him a minute ago."

The scientist nodded his head once more, "Okay sir." He then walked out of the door way and into the hall.

"Oh shit that was close" I thought to myself as I started to breath normal again.

I turned back around and re scanned the large mainframe. I was then introduced to the same files once more on my HUD. I looked at one that said 'Marauders' and selected it; the HUD was capable of at-glance selection. Once I selected it, I read through the document and learned the names, professions, and faces of the entire Marauder team.

"Awesome" I said to myself.

According the document, the leader was Robert Wright, the ace pilot was Aaron Michaels, the intel officer was Austin, no last name was listed for him, the engineer was Karlos Fuentes, and the 'brute' was Jeff; no last name was listed for him either.

"Weird for having no last name." I thought to myself, "At least I now know that this freak is named Austin." I said as I looked at the white furred fox.

I then raised my communicator and tried to contact the team. Unfortunately, the base was corrupting the signal; I had to get out before I could make contact.

Displeased with my options, I walked out of the room and back into the hallway. As I was walking, I noticed several more scientists walking in the opposite direction. Not knowing where I was going, I stopped them.

"Hey, my memory is acting up on me. Where can I exit this place?" I asked them in my accent.

One of the scientists pointed to a door that was on the left wall down the hall, "In there is the main core room; it is the only way to get to the surface because the only elevator is located inside."

"Thank you" I said as I walked towards the door.

"Uh, sir?" One of the scientists called as I walked away. I started to get nervous again and sweat.

I turned around, "Yes?"

They stayed quiet as they looked at me. After a full minute of silence, they spoke. "How is the suit?"

I was relieved at what he had said, "It's perfect; nothing seems to be wrong with it."

I turned back around and walked to the main core room. I reached it and scanned the I.D card on the panel. The door slid open and revealed the same room that I had fought Austin in. I walked in and found the same silver elevator doors on the opposite end of the large room. Just as I started to run towards the elevator door, they slid open. I immediately stopped and prayed that Austin wasn't on the other side. But to my surprise, he wasn't, instead it was Krystal.

When she spotted me looking at her, she raised her blaster and fired at me.

"Shit!" I yelled as I dove to the side and rolled behind the core.

She yelled, "Get out here, coward."

I thought of deactivating my helmet, but it didn't. With my only option, I slowly walked out. Once Krystal saw me, she tightened her grip on the gun.

"Don't shoot" I said.

"Quiet!" She yelled.

I was back to square one. I tried to lower my hands, but she fired at my foot when I tried. It thankfully missed.

"Look, don't-…" I said before I was cut off.

"I said quiet!" She yelled.

Krystal then started to walk towards me. Once she reached me, she placed her hand on my visor. I was relieved because she would sense that I was in the suit.

She gasped and raised her gun at me. "Who the hell are you?" her gun was shaking now. Didn't she sense it was me?

I lowered my hands; this was my biggest mistake. She fired three times and hit me in the chest. I was knocked back and fell to the ground.

"Damn" I said as I hit. "Some hard stuff" I continued as I coughed.

Knowing that she would no longer listen to me, I had no choice but to get that gun away from her, even if it required combat. I raised my fists and readied myself for her to attack.

She charged at me and jumped into the air; she spun around and landed a spin kick onto the right side of my helmet. I flew to the side but quickly got back up. Once I charged at her, she fired several times at me. The shots hit me, but I continued running even though they pushed me. I reached her and knocked the gun clean out of her hands. At that, she spun around and kicked me in the gut area. I was pushed back but quickly regained.

"You're tougher than I ever thought." I said.

She looked confused; I used this to my advantage and tackled her to the ground. Once I was on top of her, I held her arms down. She jerked around constantly, but eventually stopped.

"KRYSTAL! IT'S ME!" I yelled at her.

She looked incredibly confused.

Suddenly, the helmet deactivated. The glitch must have resolved.

The second she saw my face, a tear emerged from her eye. She must have felt horrible after what had happened, but to be honest, I think I felt even worse.

"Ke-… Kevin?" She asked.

I nodded, "Yes, it's me."

She started to tear up a bit more, "Why didn't you say anything? I could have killed you!"

I sighed, "I tried, but I feared that you would fire at me anyway."

She then looked at my suit, "This piece of armor, where did you find it?" She asked.

I got up off of her and helped her up, "This must be some type of experimental suit. It uses brain activity to use the systems."

She gasped, "That's why I couldn't sense anything."

Nothing but bad things arose in my mind, "That's not good. This man you told us to not look at is a telepath. This must be his upgraded suit."

"Where is he now?" She asked.

I shook my head, "I don't know, but we need to leave now."

She nodded.

The two of us then entered the elevator and went back up to the surface. When we neared it, Krystal placed her hand on her temple.

"I sense him near." She said.

I sighed, "Here we go again." I activated my helmet and prepared for yet another battle. At the same time, I opened a comm link to Fox.

"This is Kevin, Fox do you read me?" I said.

He sighed, "Stop getting caught!"

"I didn't have any control over that; this guy was a telepath for christ sake." I replied.

Fox sighed once more, "I get that, but really you need to be more careful."

I agreed, "I know that. I'll contact you when Krystal and I reach our ships." I then cut the comm line.

The doors slid open and revealed the same empty room that Falco and I had entered in. The only difference was that there was a chair and a man in the middle of the room.

"I didn't sense you coming" the man said. He then got up and turned around, "that's one hell of a suit, isn't it?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I'm going to use it to kill you."

Austin just laughed, "You got lucky once" he said just as he grabbed his two combat knives, "you won't get lucky again."

"Krystal, get out of here; I can take him now that he can't read my mind." I said as I looked at Krystal.

She shook her head, "No, I can hide from him. I'm staying and helping."

Austin shook his head, "Now that's fair; I get to kill two of you while the guards get none. What a shame."

I opened the pistol compartment and grabbed the odd gun. I raised it and aimed at Austin.

"Nice toy" he said as he suddenly charged at us.

"HIT HIM!" I yelled as I started to fire bolts of blue energy at Austin.

He was hit multiple times and was forced to roll to the side and interrupt his charge. When he rolled, I ran to him and tackled him as he got up. I was on top of him and continuously punched at his face until he bled from his nose. At that, he pushed off and got up faster than me. I looked up and saw him running for me with his daggers. I stepped back at each swing that he did. Krystal then came up from behind and fired several times into Austin's back.

"You BITCH!" He yelled as he turned around and ran for her.

I then pulled my pistol out and fired at Austin as well. My gun seemed more effective because I was able to shoot off one his plates. At that, I fired onto that same spot. I hit him and he fell to the ground in pain. He was, however, able to get back up and throw his dagger at me. I barely dodged it. I regained and ran to Austin. To my surprise, he turned around and kicked me in gut then threw an uppercut that was so hard that I went flying through the air. I hit the ground so hard that everything went black for a second. Once I opened my eyes, I could see two figures fighting. I looked up and saw that the blurry figure throwing all the punches and kicks was Austin; the one being hit repeatedly was Krystal.

"No" I said as I struggled to get back up.

Once I got back up, I saw that Krystal was lying on the ground where I was before I ran towards Austin.

I looked at her motionless body, then at Austin. Anger was flowing through me like it was some kind of drug.

"Now… you're really going to die." I said in complete anger and seriousness.

I looked up at Austin, who was smiling.

I laughed, "Die"

I then activated the Wave and sprinted towards Austin.

"WHAT?!" He yelled before I swept his feet from under him.

Once I swept him into the air, I spun around and kicked him in the side. He slid to the other side of the room, but I caught him before he stopped. I grabbed him and threw him up, as I fell back down, I raised my knee and watched as he hit with great force.

He fell to the ground motionless; I then deactivated the wave and my helmet. I looked up to where Krystal was, she was still not moving.

"Fuck" I said as I ran over to her.

I slid to her side and raised her up. I flipped her over and saw that she was limp.

"Damn it Krystal! Wake up!" I yelled.

She didn't respond to me. She remained the way she was.

"No…no…no…." I said to myself.

I couldn't believe it, he got her. I started to sob over her body. As I did, I heard Austin get back up. I looked over to him and felt anger build even more. I put Krystal back onto the floor slowly.

"YOU FUCKER!" I yelled, "I'll FUCKING KILL YOU!"

Austin looked over at me; he seemed frightened.

I looked down to my left and saw one of his blades. I grabbed it and examined it. I then looked back up at him.

"You… die…. NOW!" I yelled as I ran to him. He didn't move at all. I quickly reached him and stabbed him directly into the chest. I then pulled the knife out sideways then slashed his throat.

"Burn in hell!" I yelled as he fell to ground lifeless.

I looked back at Krystal and walked over to her side. I slowly picked her up and walked towards the door. The entire time, I sobbed over her. Once I exited, I saw Fox, Slippy, and Falco waiting in their ships overhead.

Fox was the first to land. He jumped out and sprinted over to me. As soon as he saw Krystal, he dropped to his knees.

I closed my eyes and lowered my head.

"What happened…" Fox asked quietly.

"…the telepath." I replied.

Fox looked up at me, "Is he dead?"

I nodded, "Slashed his throat… and cut his heart."

Fox then got up and lost it. He started to sob over Krystal's body as well.

I couldn't believe that she wasn't able to hide from that freak. She had her entire life of experience with her abilities, yet she was still out done by someone else. Not only was she outdone, but she was killed by one.

Just as lowered her down, she coughed multiple times. I was startled at the sudden movement but kept my hold on her. She continued coughing and eventually opened her eyes.

"Oh my god!" I said in surprise.

"Krystal? Krystal can you hear me?" Fox said frantically.

"Fox?" she replied, "Kevin?"

I laughed with relief and cried at the same time. I was relieved to see that she was fine and moreover glad to see that she was alive.

"We have to get her somewhere." Fox said.

I shook my head, "Where? There are no medical centers!"

But then I realized something.

"WAIT!" I said. I slowly handed Krystal over to Fox. "I know what to do! I'll be right back!"

I then ran back inside and to the elevator. I headed back down and activated my helmet. Once the doors opened, I ran to the other side and entered the hallway. I turned right and ran down all the way to the end; there I turned right and headed into the cell hall. I entered the hall and ran to the cell occupied by the two guards I captured.

"You two!" I yelled.

They both were sleeping.

"Get the hell up!" I yelled once more.

They then awoke and looked at me.

"What the hell do you want?" Victor asked.

I sighed, "Help"

"Fuck you!" Daniel replied.

I then pulled out my pistol and pointed it at them.

"Do you want to die?" I asked them.

They shook their heads. I then opened the cell doors and told them to get out.

"Is either of you a medic?" I asked.

Victor raised his hand. "I have some training."

I smiled inside my helmet, 'You're both coming with me to the surface."

"Fine" they replied.

I cleared my throat, "Run to the elevator or you both die."

Immediately, the three of ran off to the elevator that was in the core room. Once we entered the elevator, I grabbed both of them by the neck just in case they tried anything. The doors slid open and I pushed them out.

"Outside, now!" I commanded.

The three of us then meet up with the rest of the team. Krystal was till in bad shape, she had a bloody nose, bruises all over her body, and even cuts on her face.

"Give her medical attention… and I'll let you two go." I said.

Fox just looked at me.

Victor looked over Krystal. After a minute, he gave a response, "…fine"

Fox and I both sighed in relief.

I walked over to Victor and whispered into his ear, "I'm watching you!"

I then walked over to where Fox was and sat down on the ground with him. Falco and Slippy were sitting in their Arwings.

"Daniel, go get me an emergency med kit. There's one inside this room." Victor told the tiger.

Daniel then entered the building and came out with a med kit in less than a minute.

I watched over Victor as he bandaged Krystal up and stich her wounds closed. This all went on for an hour until he finally finished. He got up to his feet and walked over to me.

"She's good to go. I advise that she take it easy for a while." Victor told me.

I nodded my head and stood up. Once I was up, I lowered the pistol and shook Victor's hand.

"Thank you" I said quietly.

Victor shook his head, "No, thank you. If you want, your team can rest here in this room. However it is only this room, no one ever enters or leaves, so you should be fine here."

Fox then got up, "What did Kevin do to you?"

Victor just chuckled, "Well, he was pretty persuasive with his threats."

I laughed, "I don't joke around with them."

Victor then looked back at Daniel, "They're staying here to rest."

Daniel nodded and went along with the plan.

Fox spoke up, "Thank you"

Victor nodded, "If you'll excuse me and Daniel, we have to get back down before we are missed."

The two hostile guards then walked back into the building. I walked over to Krystal and scooped her up into my arms; I then followed after the two guards. Once I was inside, I laid Krystal down carefully.

Fox, Falco, and Slippy soon entered the room.

Falco looked over to the side and saw the dead fox, "You got him?"

I nodded, "Yes, slit his throat and cut his heart."

Falco then walked over to where Krystal and I were and sat down on the ground.

"So this is where we rest?" Slippy asked.

Fox chuckled, "Hey this is the best we're getting."

I was extremely exhausted from the day and only thought about sleep. I lay down on the ground and slowly dozed off into sleep. While I dozed, I heard the others talk about the next plan of attack. Eventually, I fell into deep sleep and was resting.

_To be Continued… _

_Oh dear god my hands! So much writing! So many ideas! _

_I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Remember to check out the blog sciencefictionstories. weebly. com. (There are no spaces in that). _

_Remember to review and follow if you liked…_

_Until next time…_


	11. Chapter 11: Wolf's Final Line of Defense

_Last chapter, I put in two videogame references. They are fairly close to each other and are both from the same game. Hint: they are when Kevin receives his new armor. _

_Further updates are on the blog sciencefictionstories. weebly. com. _

_On with the story…_

**Chapter 11: Wolf's Final Line of Defense**

I awoke with a startle; it was yet another nightmare in which I witness death. My entire body was sweating greatly. I looked around the large empty room and noticed that it was still dark; the team was even still sleeping. I shook my head and stood up; once I did, I looked over at my armor that was standing in the nearby corner. It was still in shape and was unscathed. I then grabbed my pistol and went to stand outside for some air. It was the second night being there at the base. The day before, we rejuvenated and got all the rest we could; Krystal was still in pain and unable to move. As I neared the large doors, I heard one of the others move around.

"I must have woken someone." I thought to myself.

A female voice replied, "I know you didn't mean to."

I was a bit startled at the sudden response, but nonetheless, I looked back and saw Krystal sitting up by herself. At the sight, I was filled with relief and joy. I ran over to her and gave her a hug.

"Thank god you're okay." I said quietly.

She grunted at the sudden force on her body, "I'm glad that you're fine as well." She replied.

I released her and moved back a bit, "How do you feel?" I asked.

She shook her head slightly, "Just a headache."

I sighed, "Damn, you heal pretty fast." I then lowered my head, "I should have seen that move coming right from when I started to run at him. I fi wouldn't have let my guard down, you wouldn't be like this."

Krystal sighed back, "It's not your fault. You couldn't do anything about the fact that he was a telepath."

I shook my head, "I know... I still can't believe that part. I thought telepaths were Cerinians; like only your race could naturally learn it."

Krystal nodded, "It's true; we're the only known race to learn telepathy as we age."

I was a bit baffled at what she had just said. Cerinians were, in fact, the only race to learn and master telepathy as they age, I wasn't wrong; this is what baffled me the most.

"Wait, so, how did he have such great skill?" I asked.

Krystal shook her head, "I know exactly why, and I wish it weren't true."

I stared at Krystal, "What is it?"

She shook her head once more, "His thought patterns were… so familiar." She sighed, "They were very similar to those of a Cerinian."

I was shocked at this, "So… he WAS a Cerinian?"

She nodded, "I wish it weren't true, but yes… he was." Her voice was getting shaky.

I instantly felt a guilty feeling emerge. I knew that Krystal was of the last of her race, and I just killed another survivor.

"Oh…my god, Krystal… I'm so sorry." I said in shock.

She shook her head, "Don't be; he got what he deserved." A tear rolled down her eye.

"Krystal?" I asked softly.

She then started to cry. I felt that something was greatly wrong, as if she had lost something.

"Krystal, what's wrong?" I asked again.

She sniffled, and after a minute of silence she spoke… "I knew him…"

Those words were a complete surprise that I had not, even in a million years, would have expected.

"U- what?" I asked in denial. I didn't want to believe that she knew this monster.

She nodded slowly, "Yes; me and him… we knew each other on Cerinia." Tears continued to roll down her cheeks.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Krystal knew this psychotic man!

I shook my head in disbelief, "Were you two… friends?"

She ignored my question. "I wish it wasn't him. I wish it could have been someone else."

Krystal was really having trouble now; she just lost her childhood friend to Wolf and to me. I could tell for a fact that she was completely devastated by the loss, even if he was evil.

I lowered my head, "Was he, you know, good back then?"

She looked up at me, "He was the nicest and most calm Cerinian I knew besides the leaders. I always thought that he would go on and do great things for the planet." She started to regain herself.

I shook my head with complete disbelief and shame, "I'm… so sorry Krystal. If I would have known, I would have at least injured him."

Krystal disagreed, "No… I sensed his honor. He didn't plan on quitting, even though he knew it was me."

"Damn…" I said quietly, "… that's… that's pretty bad what Wolf did to him."

Krystal wiped her eyes, "It doesn't matter anyway; he sealed his fate when he decided to go with Wolf. You couldn't do anything to change him." She looked up at me, "Go do what you were planning on."

"I was going to get some air." I got up and looked down at Krystal, "You could use some air as well."

She smiled, "I would like that; this room is too stuffed up even though it's empty." She said as she attempted to get up. She fell down back down and placed her hand on her head as soon as she tried to move.

"Here" I said as I lowered down, "Let me help." I then scooped her up carefully and steadily stood her up, "Put your arm around and neck, you'll need the support."

She did, along the way she limped slightly to dull the headache.

We reached the door and walked out. I found a good spot to set Krystal down and gently placed her in the spot. I released her and walked out a bit further.

"Ah, fresh air." I said louder than earlier.

The cool air was nice. I felt the wind blow softly as the scattered clouds above were illuminated by the moonlight. I looked around and saw the same scene we saw when we arrived; an abandoned base with hardly any buildings and no troops. The Arwings were landed not far from me; about a few yards away.

"This planet… it's so beautiful." Krystal said softly.

I looked back at her and saw her looking up at the night sky.

I chuckled, "It may be beautiful, but we have our weaknesses."

The wind blew a bit harder as I looked back up in the sky.

"How so?" Krystal asked.

I continued looking up at the white dotted sky, "Humans just have that nature to argue. Life here is not as easy as it is on Corneria or in Lylat."

"Hmm" Krystal replied.

I sighed at the sky, "My life, however, was a little easy up until high school. I was always picked on and bullied for being as skinny as I was..." I looked down at myself, "…but that's all in the past now."

I felt Krystal reach into my mind; I didn't reject her. After a minute of silence, she spoke. "I see how you feel. Life does seem harder here."

I chuckled, "I don't think Earth will be the same after this war." I inhaled greatly, "The again, I could be wrong."

I watched the few clouds slowly move through the sky in front of the stars and moon. The wind was very chilly and was dying down a bit. As the wind blew in my face once more, I heard the door open. I looked back and saw Falco walking out.

"For an empty room, it gets uncomfortable in there." He said as he stretched.

I laughed at his attitude.

He smiled, "You two have the right idea."

I looked back into the sky, "Well, it's nice and cool out here. I needed this air so badly."

I heard Falco yawn, "Yeah, you kept makin noises while you were asleep."

I sighed in disgust and looked back at Falco, "Oh shit… really?" I asked sheepishly.

He nodded at me, "Damn… sorry about that then."

I looked down at my communicator and saw that it was about 3:30 in the morning. I was a bit surprised to see that I had woken up so early; last time I woke from the nightmare at around 8.

"Only 3?" I asked softly.

Falco replied, "What's up, Kev?"

I looked back, "Oh… I said that it's only 3."

I then headed back for the door. I walked past Krystal and offered her a lift.

"No thanks, I'm going to stay out here for a bit longer." She replied.

I nodded, "Okay, I'll be inside if you need help."

Falco followed behind me and put his hand on my shoulder. I looked over at him as we entered the building.

"You two are good friends." He said.

I chuckled, "I did save Fox's life." I argued, "Aren't those two like in love or something?"

Falco laughed, "Yeah, but Fox doesn't want to show it." He whispered after he finished laughing.

I looked over at Fox, who was still fast asleep, "He does know that Krystal is a telepath, right?"

Falco just laughed.

"Seriously" I said against his laughter.

The two of us then walked over to our little circle that we made. In the middle was all of our gear placed so that we could easily get them at any moment's notice. I walked over and sat down where I was originally sleeping; Falco did the same and sat in his spot.

I started to think of what to do next. Should we go for the final two bases or straight for Wolf? I pondered over the idea; Wolf wouldn't expect us to go for him so quickly, however he would be ready if we did. After my think session, I came up with the good answer; limit his army ability by destroying the final bases.

"I think we should get ready now." I finally said.

Falco looked at me, "Why?"

"Well, if we move now, we can catch the bases by surprise and ultimately destroy them." I explained, "It's far better than going when everyone is awake at the bases."

Falco nodded, "That's true."

Suddenly, I felt Krystal reach into my mind, "I need a little help getting up." She thought to me.

I got up from my spot, "I'll be right back." I then walked over to the door and exited the room. Krystal was still sitting in the spot I had placed her; she was looking at the sky.

"You needed help?" I asked.

She looked back at me, "Mhm" she said as she smiled.

I walked over to her and placed her arm around my shoulder. The two of us stood up carefully and walked back to the door slowly. When we entered the room, we saw that Fox and Slippy were awake. Fox was the first to see us however.

"Oh god… Krystal?" Fox said in shock.

She smiled, "Hi, Fox"

Fox seemed a bit speechless, "Yo-… you're walking!"

I intervened, "Just about"

Krystal nodded, "I just have this major headache that really keeps me from doing anything. I should be able to fly at least with the G-Diffuser."

Slippy agreed, "With the medication, you should feel no pain at all."

Fox looked at me, "Kevin, head down and tell Victor and Daniel that we'll be leaving soon."

I nodded and gave Krystal over to him. Once he had her, I walked over to my armor that was standing in the same corner and activated it. The chest plate slid up and the arms and legs opened. I stepped in and closed the armor up; the locks engaged and movement was enabled.

"That armor is wicked." Falco said as he admired the suit.

I nodded, "Hell yeah it is." My helmet then activated from my thoughts, "Connected to my brain patterns for hands free control."

Slippy got up, "When we're done, I'll take a look at the armor tech and see if we can get more for the rest of the team."

I smiled from inside my helmet, "Awesome" I then headed for the elevator and called it up.

"Don't take too long." Falco said from behind.

The elevator door then opened; I stepped inside and turned around. "I won't" I yelled as the doors slid closed.

The elevator started to move downward, I decided to use this time to practice my voice.

"I'm doing quite fine." I said in the Estuary accent. "Nothing is wrong." "Leave me" I practiced.

The elevator doors opened and revealed the empty core room. I walked out of the elevator and headed for the door. I exited the room and found multiple scientists walking around the hallways. As one neared me, I stopped him.

"You there" I said, "Where are Victor Garnez and Daniel Howard?"

The scientist shook his head, "I'm not sure, sir. They may be in the mess hall." The scientist then continued his walk.

I thought to myself, "Well damn" I had no idea where the mess hall would even be located. I decided to make up the same fib I had told two days before, the day I killed Austin.

I grabbed another scientist, "You, my memory is not well today. Where is the damn mess hall?" I asked.

The scientist pointed down the hall, "Just take the first right and there will be two doors at the end, in there is the mess hall."

I nodded, "Thank you"

The scientist then stopped me, "What do you mean by your memory?"

I shook my head, "My brain is succumbing to my abilities. I have no control over my memory span now due to the corruption I have encountered." I fibbed. I then thought to myself, "Where the hell did that come from?"

The scientist nodded, "Very well." He then continued walking.

I looked down the hall and found the adjacent path I was supposed to take. I walked down to it and made the right, sure enough there were a pair of doors with a sign over it that read 'Mess hall'. I headed through the doors and was met by a great surprise. I entered the room and found a huge amount of guards all enjoying a meal. The surprise was when one of them yelled over in my direction.

"CAPTAIN ON DECK!" He yelled then snapped to attention.

My heart dropped when the rest of the guards did the same. The sudden actions were really messing with me.

"At ease!" I yelled. The guards all then sat back down and continued eating. Once they did so, I scanned the room and looked for a leopard and tiger. I quickly found two familiar faces and headed for their table.

I reached the table and sat right next to Victor, whom was still eating his food.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he ate. Daniel then looked over at me.

I cleared my throat, "Nothing is wrong." I then leaned over and whispered into his ear, "We're leaving now before any guards are sent out."

He nodded, "Better to do so now since everyone is down here."

One of the other guards looked over at us, "Sir"

I looked over at him, "What is it, I'm busy."

"Exactly, why are you wearing your helmet?" He asked.

My heart started to race, "Um…" I looked for an answer, "…the… tech is… uh new."

The guard nodded at me, "So you can't give it a rest?" He then started to laugh, "Seriously, no one is gonna be offended by you showing your face."

"Fuck…" I thought to myself.

Victor leaned over, "Leave… now" he whispered.

I then got up and walked away. "Where are you going in such a hurry?" The guard asked.

I started to walk a little faster, "Don't look back…" I told myself.

As I neared the door, a hand grabbed my shoulder. I was spun around and met face to face with that same guard: a human male that looked to be about 28 with black hair.

"Stand down" I barked. I then activated the holster for my pistol and grabbed it; I then slowly brought it up to the guards under chin. His eyes closed at the touch of the barrel.

"Stand down, or else." I said slowly.

The guard then stepped back slowly while looking at me intently; all of the other guards were staring as well. Fear ran through my body as I tried to pick out actions that wouldn't get me killed.

As the guard stepped back, I replaced my pistol into its holster and closed it. I then turned around and exited the mess hall. In the hall, the scientists were looking at me.

I deactivated the voice processor and contacted Fox.

"Fox here" He answered.

I was quick, "Fox, get everyone prepped to leave now!" I said quietly so the scientists wouldn't hear the faint voice.

"Why?" He replied.

"They're onto us." I said.

Fox sighed, "Those two guards must have told."

I slightly shook my head, "No, both of them seem just as frightened as me."

Fox cursed under his breath, "Get back here now. We'll leave when you get outside."

"Roger" I cut the transmission and re activated the voice processor.

I quickly reached the door that lead into the core room. I entered the room and noticed that two armed guards were following me. The doors closed behind me and instantly re opened.

"Stop right there." One of them said.

I looked back and saw the two beings all suited up from head to toe. They had unusual looking rifles in their hands.

"Can I help you two?" I asked harshly.

They started to walk towards me, "You are under arrest."

I was incredibly frightened but tried to hide it. I stepped back, "Under what circumstances?"

They continued walking towards me slowly, "The murder of Austin."

I chuckled and quickly calmed myself. I realized how unprepared the two were; they looked as though they were going to collapse.

I chuckled, "You picked a fight with the wrong person then."

The two raised their rifles even higher. I looked to my left and saw that the mangled core was rather close. I faced the guards and dove towards the core; they immediately opened fire upon me. As soon as I sat up from the dive, I grabbed my pistol and ran back out. As I left my spot, I fired at the two guards. They dove out of the way and continued firing.

"FOX, TAKE OFF NOW!" I yelled as I opened another com line.

Fox seemed startled, "Whoa, what's happening?"

I ran behind a pillar that supported the roof. "They know"

"Shit, where are you?" he asked.

I looked behind me and saw the elevator, "Right next to the elevator, I can't get to it because of these two guards."

Suddenly, the door burst open and in came a rush of guards. They all kneeled and stood pointing their rifles to the pillar I was at. I peeked around and saw the line.

"Make that all the guards."

Fox cursed again, "Get your ass up here. We have to go!"

I cut the comm.

"Get out from behind there and we'll take you in rather than kill you." One of the guards yelled from the line.

I looked back at the elevator and saw that it had a key card slot. Seeing this, I activated the infrared visor and scanned the lock. It called the elevator for me.

"No thanks" I yelled back. I then reached from out of the cover and fired blindly into the line of guards. I peered around and saw that they all dove away from the lasers. I went back into the cover and saw the elevator waiting with the door open.

"Wait" I thought to myself.

The doors then started to close. At this, I darted for them and dove into the elevator. I stayed on the ground as laser fire ran through the open space above me. The lasers stopped when the elevator started to move. Once it did, I got back up.

"Son of a bitch." I said to myself.

The doors opened and revealed the large empty room. I ran out and exited the building. The Arwings were already started up and were ready to take off. Fox looked at me through the canopy and yelled something.

"What?" I asked when I opened the team wide comm line.

"BEHIND YOU!" He yelled.

I turned around and a blue light race towards me. It grew larger and larger with milliseconds only passing. In what seemed like an instance, my head was knocked back, and then I was knocked back to the ground. I was hit twice. Pain was surging through my face and my upper body. I quickly tried to get up, but stumbled as I did so. I looked back and saw the guards already running towards me. I grabbed my pistol and quickly fired at them.

"DIE!" I yelled.

The HUD was struggling to stay active; however I wasn't really using it. As I fired and dropped guards, a ray of large blue lasers came from behind. I quickly looked back and saw Fox hovering overhead and firing into the building.

"GO!" He yelled over the comm.

I got back up and ran for my jet. I quickly jumped into it and started to systems. The G-Diffusers warmed up and the engine started to whir. As soon as the remaining systems were ready, I lifted off and flew towards the rest of the team. I looked back and saw Fox following closely.

"We have to get to the next base quickly." Fox said.

I nodded, "Let's go then."

Slippy spoke up, "I sent the coordinates to your radars." The team then accelerated and headed for the next base. I then pushed the throttle to the max and followed after them.

"The minute you see the base, attack." Fox said.

I tightened my grip on the control stick, "It's almost over" I quietly said to myself.

Slippy suddenly spoke up, "According to the radar images and intel, the last two bases are connected and located in the same spot."

Falco chuckled, "This is too easy."

After a minute, I picked up a transmission that the computer recognized.

"Wait, I have something coming through the comms." I said.

Fox looked confused, "Is it known?"

I nodded, "Yeah, the computer reads it as old but known."

Slippy spoke up, "Can you patch it through?" he asked.

I entered the command and patched the signal through to the team's comm lines. My onboard computer told me that their computers knew it as well.

"It's an old comm line. How do the ships know the source?" I asked.

Slippy went to work to identify the source. As we neared the base, it came into view.

"Hold it!" Fox yelled.

I pulled the throttle back and came to a complete stop along with the rest of the team. The base was off to the distance; however there were explosions and lasers flying everywhere.

"What the hell" I said in awe.

I looked down at my computer and saw that the source had been located. It was none other than Wood's comm signature.

"WHAT!?" I yelled as I read the name.

The team seemed startled at the sudden yell.

"What is it?" Fox asked.

I looked up at the display, "It's Woods!"

Fox's eyes grew wide.

Falco's jaw dropped, "He's fighting the base? By himself?"

I looked back down as Slippy started to speak, "No, he has the entire army with him!"

Fox was absolutely stunned by the discovery, "How the hell did they get here?"

I looked back up and saw a group of Venomian Class fighters approaching us, "We've got company"

I then pushed the throttle forwards and opened fire on the small group of three. Two were shot down in my barrage while one pulled out of the line of fire.

"Let's go" Fox said over the comm.

I chased after the third fighter, "I'll take this and catch up with you guys."

Fox nodded, "All right, just don't take too long with this one."

I locked the sights onto the enemy fighter and fired multiple times at him; the enemy went down and was torn apart as it spun out of control. When the remains exploded, I turned around and headed for the base. As I raced to the location, I opened a comm line to Woods.

"Woods, what the hell are you doing here!?" I yelled.

Woods came back a bit surprised, "What? You could really use help."

I shook my head, "NO!" I yelled, "The point of us leaving was so the population wouldn't decrease any further!"

Woods didn't answer.

"We left so we could have SOME humans left over after this damned war!" I continued, "You may not know, but I had a secret meeting with the generals; the intel from the now deceased troops said that bunkers were raided and anyone in them was killed!"

_About a month ago…_

I entered the base and went to the main elevator. I had just come back from the horrible mission that went wrong. As soon as I entered the war room, Reyes and Johnson eyes grew wide.

"Holy shit… you made it?" Reyes said.

I nodded, "Not only me, Woods as well."

I looked back and Woods enter the room.

Reyes looked relieved, "Thank god you made it."

Suddenly, Cruz came up from the lower floor and looked over at me.

"Kevin" he said, "I need to speak with you privately."

I nodded and followed after General Cruz. I looked back and saw Johnson following me. The three of us headed down to the main floor and into a room that off to the side. It looked like an interrogation room; inside was Brooks sitting at the table and holding a stack of papers. The three of us entered.

Brooks turned around and saw us walk in, "Please sit" he said in a calm voice.

I walked around to the other side of the table and took a seat in the extra chair. Reyes, Johnson, and Brooks were looking at me.

"What can I help you with?" I asked as I sat back.

Brooks lowered his head, "What I am about to tell you… does not leave this room."

I nodded in agreement, "Sure thing"

Brooks looked back up, "We just received intel from the ground troops spread out about America. Before their comm line died, we received the files. According to them…" he stopped.

I was really confused as to why they were sharing intel with me and not Fox. It kind of got me worried that they would tell me and not Fox; was I the only one capable of hearing it?

"… the files…" He stopped again, "… stated that bunkers were raided."

My eyes grew wide, "Wait…"

Brooks cut me off, "All bunkers in large cities… were raided… and flushed out."

I stood up, "No…" I didn't believe what they were telling me.

Johnson continued for Brooks, "I'm afraid so… scientists estimate that 67% of the current Earth wide population has been extinguished."

I shook my head, "Stop lying!"

Cruz then stepped forward, "Kevin, we're not lying. What we said is true; we wouldn't lie about something like this."

My heart dropped as I took the truth in, "…no…"

Brooks stood up, "What we're trying to do is have you think of what to do. In war, you need to make sudden decisions to sudden news. You're in command right now, so what are your orders?"

I was still trying to take in the sudden news and realization of the now endangered species; humans. The sentence didn't fit right in my mind; humans are now an endangered species being exterminated like pests.

I calmed myself a bit and worked the urge to speak, "What are the remaining troop's current orders?"

"Full retreat" Cruz said.

I shook my head, "For now, wait and see."

_Back to present time…_

"We're at 40 % our normal population, Woods!" I yelled.

Woods still didn't answer.

"But hey whatever, right? You came, so why not die along with humanity?" I said sarcastically.

Woods finally replied, "I'm not going to die."

"Whatever" I then cut the comm line and continued towards the fight.

I entered the engagement zone that Slippy has put up and saw the array of jets, Venomian fighters, and ground troops. They seemed like they were already almost done.

"Fox, how are these guys doing?" I asked as I followed after a lone fighter.

Fox quickly replied, "They told me that they have made great progress and that a battalion of Spec Ops troops have already infiltrated the main core building."

I was shocked, "Really?"

Fox nodded, "Wolf's army must be dwindling faster with the lack of power."

"Good" I said as I fired at the lone enemy. I was then caught off guard when he barrel rolled out of the way.

"Interesting" I fired again and saw him dodge once more. He then changed his course and headed for edge of the engagement zone. I followed after him and tried to take him down.

I fired multiple times, but was met with the same luck of either missing or him dodging. As we reached the edge of the zone, he sped up. When he did that, I fired and hit him directly in the engine. He spun out of control and crashed head first into the ground.

I sighed, "Finally got you"

I turned around and headed back for the engagement zone. When I reached the edge, two odd looking fighters zoomed passed from behind me. I was stuttered at the sudden appearance.

"Whoa" I said as they passed.

I looked ahead and the saw the two turn around. I stopped in mid-air and waited. The two stopped when they were a few hundred feet away from me.

"So, you're Kevin?" A voice said.

A more dark voice chuckled, "This guy's a human!"

I was very offended at the darker ones comment. The computer scanned the two fighters and gave me a feed for me to see them.

"And you're one ugly dog" I replied as I saw a burly canine appear.

He growled at me, but was quickly hushed by the feline pilot.

"Calm down, his insults won't do him any good." The feline said.

I examined the pilots and quickly figured it out; "You must be Karlos Fuentes" I looked at the brown feline. I then looked at the canine, "You must be Jeff."

Karlos answered first, "You're right."

I tightened my grip on the flight stick and took several deep breaths.

"Let's just skip the intros and end this." I said as I looked back up.

Karlos was in a black ship that resembled the Wolfen while Jeff was in a red and white ship with inverted wings; they faced forwards rather than backwards.

Jeff smiled, "That's a great plan."

I then pushed the throttle and fired upon Jeff's ship. I hit him several times as he barrel rolled to the left.

"Damn" he yelled as I hit him.

Karlos quickly spoke, "I got him!"

I looked back and saw the black Wolfen following after me. I pulled up and broke off the chase to perform a loop. The entire time, Karlos was following closely. I tried barrel rolling to the right, then to the left. To my dissatisfaction, I was unable to escape his sights. As I tried to perform another loop, I was hit multiple times by Karlos and Jeff together.

"Argh" I yelled as I shook violently.

"Shields at 60%." The computer said.

I lopped around and fired a smart bomb. Once I exited the loop, I detonated it and watched as Karlos and Jeff were hit by the explosion. As I looped once more, I saw the two fly out of explosion unharmed.

"Son of a bitch" I said to myself.

I looked back and saw the two still following after me. At this, I pulled the throttle back until I was barely moving; I then yanked the control stick back and flipped a full 360 degrees. When I leveled back out, the two fighters were back in front of me. I pushed the throttle and quickly closed in the two. I locked onto the black Wolfen and opened fire on it. I hit it multiple times.

"You little pest!" Karlos yelled.

I fired again when my sights lined up and hit him even more. His ship started to smoke.

"Asshole!" He yelled.

The two then performed barrel rolls separately from each other. I went left and followed after Jeff. My sights wobbled over his ship as I tried to keep them steady. Jeff kept pulling up, barrel rolling to the left, and even stopping.

"Not gonna help you!" I yelled as I opened fire. I hit his ship so many times that he erupted in flames.

He yelled, "SHIT!" Then I saw the large dog eject from the cockpit. Seeing as how he was defeated, I looked back and saw Karlos racing straight for me.

"Time for you to die!" He yelled.

I then killed my speed once more and did the same trick as before. He zoomed passed me as I faced down; when I leveled out, I pushed the throttle and opened fire on him. I hit him until he burst into flames.

"I'M NOT DIEING UNTIL YOU DIE!" He yelled manically.

I continued firing at him. I hit him once and caused him to spin out of control. When he started to lose it, I fired on him and finished him off.

"NOOO!" He yelled before silence filled the comm lines.

I smiled, "One down, one to go!"

I turned around and saw a plume of smoke originating from the crashed fighter of Jeff. I flew close to the ground and landed near the site. When I set down, I opened the canopy and jumped down onto the ground. I looked around and activated my helmet.

"Scan for bio signature" I thought.

"Scanning…" A message displayed.

I waited until it was finished.

"Bio signature confirmed." The message then said.

After I read it, I pulled out my new pistol and pointed it in the direction of the signature; it was originating from behind a small hill that erected from the ground with a steep slope. As I neared it, the computer warned me of a high threat level.

"Time to die, Jeff!" I yelled.

He replied, "NO!"

Suddenly, a large canine wielding two rifles jumped up onto the small hill. He growled at the sight of me, but he also stumbled from the pain he sustained from the fight and landing. As he growled, I raised my pistol and prepared to fire.

"Bye" I pulled the trigger and sent a bolt of red energy streaming to Jeff.

The bolt hit him directly in the chest. He was sent flying into the air from the great force and landed several feet from where he was standing. I walked up onto the hill and looked over at his body. He wasn't moving; a large hole also took the spot of skin on his chest.

I sighed with relief as I de activated my helmet, "Your time is near, Wolf." I said to myself.

I then turned around and headed back for my jet. I started to climb up when I looked back at the destroyed fighter. Once I finished watching the ship burn, I continued my climb and started the jet up. The engines quickly warmed up and the computer systems took no time to activate. Once I was ready, I took off into the sky and headed for the final base that was already being attacked. I re-entered the zone and found that all air troops were destroyed; all that was left were a few round troops that were surrounded by the spec ops team and army.

"Thank god…" I said to myself. We were so close to ending this war.

Woods spoke up, "I know what you all are thinking; you're going to get Wolf by yourself."

Fox replied, "That's exactly what our plan is."

Woods then suddenly yelled, "WRONG!"

Falco laughed, "Whoa there"

Krystal finally spoke, "That's not very nice at all."

Woods continued, "The air force is coming along with you."

Fox shook his head, "Absolutely not, Wolf will have the remains of his army there waiting. He'll kill every one of you!"

Suddenly, a random pilot spoke up, "Sir, I speak for everyone when we I say we are determined to kill this son of a bitch!"

"Where did he come from?" Slippy asked.

Suddenly another pilot spoke up, "You think that we're nothing; we've had more training than any of you. This is also OUR planet. We have full say in what we choose to do."

Fox didn't speak, instead he stayed silent.

"Fox?" I asked as I looked at his feed.

He shook his head, "Fine, but don't say I didn't warn you!"

Slippy spoke up, "Follow us to the final area that Wolf has."

The five of us then turned around and sped towards the last base that Wolf was help up in. The war was literally hours from ending.

"We should be there in a few minutes." Woods said, "All units accelerate to max speeds."

I looked back and saw the incredibly large air force catch up to the team. We weren't going as fast as usual so the army could keep up.

I sighed and was filled with complete fear; I had a really bad feeling with this last attack, it was all too easy. What if a trap was waiting for us? What if an immensely large army is waiting?

I shook my head and had a sudden thought, "No… Krystal would sense the presence. She would tell us." I thought to myself.

I then asked Slippy a question, "Hey Slip" I said.

"Yeah Kevin?" He replied.

I took a deep breath, "Can you send me the intel on the base?"

Slippy nodded, "Sure thing"

Only a few seconds had passed when I received the files.

"Thanks Slip" I said.

"Why did you need them?" He asked.

I wanted to hide my plan from them for now, "Just to see if they would have a great defense."

That was not my intention at all. I opened the file and quickly found the location that Wolf was hiding. He was held in a command center with multiple guards that have the same training as the Marauders. In other words, it wouldn't be easy getting to him. My real plan was to enter that base and kill him with my own hands. This was my way of getting him for trying to kill off my home.

"I will kill you" I thought to myself.

_To Be Continued…_

_ALMOST THERE! We're so close to the finale of Crossed Paths, it's gonna be awesome! _

_Anyway, sorry for such a short chapter; I needed it to be posted before my final week of school (finals, projects, etc. would cause me to hold the chapter back until Saturday). I will make up for it in the next and final chapter. _

_Remember to review and follow if you liked the story. _

_Until next time… for the final time… _


	12. Chapter 12: Judgement Day

_Here we go guys! The final chapter! I'm so excited to see the final chapter, yet sad to see that I will soon leave this world and move to another. It's a shame that I see all that I could have done, yet end it here. Oh well, I suppose. Oh… and if you didn't see the update on the website; viewer discretion is advised (towards the end). _

_On with the story…_

**Chapter 12: Judgment Day**

The five of us, accompanied by the entire air force, were heading for Wolf's final base. Today is the day that Wolf dies, today is the day that Wolf's army crumbles, today is the day Earth is freed from his clutches. Excitement was building up inside me as we neared the base. Along the way, I reflected on all that had happened; the loss of an entire battalion, Krystal and Fox becoming great friends with me, the mixed feelings of joy a pain after finishing a mission. I had an assortment of these feelings as the war raged on. I'm only sixteen and I do have my morals in check. Before joining the team, I never thought of actually killing someone. But hey, changes are supposed to happen right?

"Kevin?" Krystal suddenly asked over a private comm line.

I switched the team wide broadband to silent, "Yes, Krystal?"

"I sense some unusual thoughts originating from you." She said.

I was stunned that she already figured out my plan. Even though I knew of her knowing, I decided to hide it further, "What? What do you mean unusual?"

She shook her head, "I'm not sure, but they aren't the same that I have sensed from you in the past."

I got an idea when she said this, "Maybe it's someone else that's near me. You may be mistaking him for me."

She shook her head after some thought, "Probably, but the patterns match that of your brain." She stayed quiet for a minute, "What are you planning?"

I shook my head, "I'm not planning anything. The only thing I DO plan on doing, however, is finishing this war."

She sighed, "I have a bad feeling that you're lying to me."

I shook my head again, "I would never lie." I suddenly got a horrible feeling inside of me.

I knew very well that I was, in fact, lying. If I told her about my plan to go into the base and kill Wolf, and probably Panther, she would want to come with me and help. I couldn't let her do that due to her injuries; on top of that, I didn't want her to get killed. Wolf is far more skilled than Austin was, Krystal would definitely be killed; I wasn't saying that she was a bad fighter; I was saying that with her injuries, her fighting capabilities are basically ruined.

"Look, I only want this war to be over. You're probably sensing the excitement that I'm feeling." I finally said.

She nodded, "Maybe" she sighed slightly, "Just try not to take any risks; I can't stand to see you constantly putting your life on the line for this war."

I sighed, "I don't like doing that either. I just want this war to end and keep Wolf from destroying my home."

I then felt Krystal attempt to reach into my mind. I immediately rejected her and thought of the nothingness and darkness; I couldn't let her find out my plan. She receded and opened her eyes; she looked at me through her feed.

Krystal looked at me, "You're very lucky."

I lowered my head, "Yeah, I kind of feel guilty as well."

Krystal looked confused, "Why?"

"Wolf is using the same tech as Andross…" I sighed, "…I'm doing something to save my home, while you couldn't do anything."

Krystal nodded, "Please don't feel bad about that, Kevin." She said, "I didn't have a choice over my loss; nothing could have been done."

I nodded, "I… guess."

Krystal smiled, "We should be at the base in a few minutes." She then cut the transmission.

I took in what I had just done. I lied to Krystal, plan on doing a suicide mission, and plan on ending this war today.

"I'm a horrible person." I said to myself.

After my time of thought was over, I switched the comms back over to the team wide channel. I was met with the chatter of the team. They were talking about what we were going to do after the base and Wolf are destroyed.

"I say we just head back to Corneria and rest." Falco added to the list.

Fox sighed, "You would say that."

Falco shrugged, "Hey, we've been fighting this war for a year now. It's taken us from Lylat all the way to here. Rest is the only thing we can do."

Slippy then jumped in, "What about working on our tech? With all the intel, we can upgrade our ships, Landmaster, and even the Great Fox."

Fox seemed intrigued, "It would really help pass the time. The ship does need some work, and we could really use the upgrades for any future assignments."

I decided to cut in, "I say rest is good."

Falco threw his arms up, "Thank you!"

I chuckled, "But not on Corneria; I say we rest here, on Earth. There are plenty of amazing places here that you guys would absolutely love."

Fox seemed even more intrigued at my idea, "Like what?"

I thought of some places they would like, "Well, assuming this place hasn't been destroyed, Dubai is a great place to vacation. They have Earth's tallest building; it's actually even taller than those in Corneria."

Slippy suddenly spoke, "Really?"

I nodded, "Yes, however I think it's been demolished by Wolf. If we're lucky, it'll still be there along with the city." I paused, "That and it's the only building of its height; no other building in the world comes remotely close to it."

Krystal joined in, "How big is this city?"

I pondered the question and remembered something I heard over the T.V long before I joined Star Fox, "I heard that Dubai is the 'playground for the ultra-rich'. I don't know if that is exactly true, but it wouldn't hurt to check out the city."

Fox sighed, "We don't have money."

I nodded, "True, but we can use the Great Fox as our rest stop whenever we leave the surface; we don't need to buy a hotel room or anything."

Falco smiled, "I like the way you think."

I smiled back, "We can even go to Hawaii. The most tropical place I know."

Slippy suddenly spoke, "We're only a minute away from the base."

Falco sat up, "That was fast."

I gripped the controls and prepped for anything, "I'll alert the air force."

I switched the team line over to the air force line and spoke loudly, "Listen up! We are literally about to get our first visual on this base. Our plan is simple; take out all air forces and air strike the hell out of the surface. Data will be sent to your radars to help you identify friendlies over foes." I paused for a minute and thought up the words for the Mexican forces, "Nuestro plan es simple: sacar todas las fuerzas de aire y ataque aéreo a la mierda de la superficie. Los datos se enviarán a sus radares para ayudar a identificar los amistosos más enemigos."

"Encantado" one of the leaders replied.

"Copy that!" Another yelled.

I switched the comms back to the team line, "They're all ready for the fight. Slippy, send them data for ship signatures; I have a feeling that they'll need the help."

Slippy started to type some things, "You got it."

I looked at Fox's feed, "It's time, Fox."

He nodded slowly, "I know; time for our rival to bite the dust."

I looked back up and looked into the distance. Only a few miles ahead, there was a large base; I could hardly see it due to some low atmosphere clouds dulling the visibility.

"I see it!" I said.

Fox inhaled greatly, "Alright, switch over to the air force line. They'll need to hear in on any change of plans."

I did so and heard some chatter over the lines. I was displeased to see that they were paying no attention to the base that in the distance, so I yelled.

"HEY! Are any of you paying attention?! Can you not see the large base that we are about to be within attack range?" I yelled.

I was met with synchronization, "Sir, no sir!"

I shook my head, "Quit your talking and get ready! Shit's about to go down!"

Slippy spoke up, "Everyone, this is Slippy; I've sent you all data to your radars. The data will help you see allies and enemies; it also shows you the battle area I've set up. Pay close attention to it and don't stray away."

"Sir, yes sir." The force said in a jumbled mess.

Slippy then started to count down, "Entering engagement zone in 10… 9… 8…7…"

Fox quickly gave an order, "When we enter the zone, you have permission to attack. You're with mercenaries right now, so you get the mercenary orders."

"…6…5…4…3…" Slippy continued.

I took a deep breath, "God speed, everyone." I said.

"…2…1… Contact!" Slippy finished.

"Everyone split and start the attack!" Fox yelled.

I pushed the throttle to the max and reached the base. It was absolutely immense. There were guard towers with large turret installations all along the edge. In the center was an enormous building that looked like the bridge of a ship. Around that building were smaller ones only half the size of the center one. The base itself was so large with so many buildings; it looked like a small city. As soon as I entered the airspace, the turrets opened fire.

"Here we go!" I yelled as I barrel rolled to the side. I pushed down and opened fire on one of the turrets. It was easily destroyed with no problems. I looked back and saw the rest of the team and air forces split and start the attack. I then looked back in front of me and turned around; I found another turret that was not looking in my direction and flew by for an attack. As I neared it, I opened fire and quickly destroyed it.

"Sir" a sudden voice originated from the comms, "radar is picking up enemy fighters."

I heard Fox reply, "Looks like we got their attention."

I shook my head, "Time for some fun!"

I continued on my current course along the edge of the base and destroyed the next turret in the line. Once I flew over it, I destroyed the next. I pulled up and saw an enemy fighter fire upon an allied jet.

"Oh hell no" I said as I continued to pull. I leveled out and chased after the two. I lined the sights and fired upon the enemy fighter. He went down in a fiery explosion.

"Thanks, sir" the pilot said.

I nodded, "No problem, just keep a sharper eye out next time."

I rolled over and pulled the stick back. I saw the large central building and decided to put a few lasers in the glass that was on the top looking out towards the fight.

"Take this!" I fired multiple times.

I pulled up and saw that my lasers literally bounced off of the glass.

"What?!" I said in shock, "The hull of the central building is shielded!" I said over the comms.

Slippy replied, "No surprise in that."

I shook my head and found another enemy ship that I could engage. I chased after the lone fighter and opened fire on him. He dodged the first few, but was hit by the last ones. He went down in smoke and crashed into one of the smaller buildings. As I watched him crash, I saw an enemy tank look up at me.

"Whoa!" I yelled as I barrel rolled to the left and dodged the large bolt of energy, "They have tanks set up on the surface. They're hiding in between the buildings."

I turned back and destroyed several more fighters as I chased after a large squad of five. They all easily went down in no time. As I destroyed them, I saw an allied jet go down.

A pilot's scream was heard, "ARGH!"

After that, several more were heard.

"We just lost ten fighters!" Slippy said.

I was shocked, "In how much time?"

"No time at all. They were all in a group." He replied.

I instantly felt a bad feeling arise inside of me. It was happening all over again; the loss of innocent lives that only protects and serves.

Fox sighed, "I have a bad feeling about this."

Krystal suddenly yelled, "PANTHER!"

I shot my head around and looked for the Wolfen.

"Where?" I asked in shock.

I heard a low toned chuckle come over the comms, "Why, right behind you."

My jet was then rocked as I was hit by several lasers. I pulled up and started to roll, the rolling put up the added shield that helps deflect lasers. I continued pulling and performed a loop.

"Son of a bitch! I thought you were going to cower out and leave!" I yelled.

Panther just laughed, "Why on earth would I do such a thing?"

I growled as I was hit several more times, "Damn!"

"I got you, Kev" Falco said.

Panther suddenly grunted, "Argh! You annoying little bird!" I looked back and saw Panther break off.

"Falco, he's right behind you!" I yelled.

Falco grunted, "You mind getting this cat away from me?"

I nodded and immediately turned around. I found the two ships and went after the back one. Panther was keeping a close chase on Falco and didn't seem to want to let off. I neared the two ships and immediately opened fire. The Wolfen seamlessly dodged the lasers as he continued to fire on Falco.

"What?" I said in shock.

Falco grunted once more, "Kevin, you having trouble back there!?"

I shook my head in disgrace, "I can't hit this freak!"

Panther suddenly cut in, "That's not nice, now is it?"

I continued to fire and hit Panther several times. He quickly activated the G-Diffuser brakes and instantly stopped; I was unprepared for this. As his ship came rushing towards mine, I, with mere milliseconds to act, threw the stick to the side and barrel rolled to the side. I came within inches of slamming into Panther.

"You crazy son of a…" I yelled.

"Ah ah aaah" Panther teased, "Watch that mouth of yours."

Panther then started to chase after me instead. I was incredibly furious with him, "Don't tell me… what to do… you stupid excuse for a living thing!" I said furiously. I then pulled up and attempted to loop around, Panther just followed after me with no issues.

He seemed shocked, "Oh my, I must have broken him."

My jet was then rocked more as he hit me several more times. This made me even more furious.

"Warning, shields at 45%!" The computer started to yell.

I activated the conventional brakes and leveled out from the loop; the jet was pushed down from the back but then came back up. I barrel rolled to the left and saw three allied jets coming in my direction.

I yelled a simple order, "Shoot!" I prayed that they knew that it was me.

The three jets then fired a barrage of missiles in my direction. I barrel rolled to the right and dodged the missiles; Panther, however, was hit by them. As I flew away from the huge explosion, I heard Panther yell. After that, the comms remained quiet. None of the squads were communicating, the leaders weren't giving orders, and Krystal was even a bit shocked.

"Did… they get him?" I asked in surprise.

I turned around and stopped in mid-air. I looked at the fiery explosion as the smoke was starting to take over the light. I looked around and saw that the enemy ship number had been decreased greatly.

Fox looked absolutely flabbergasted, "That's not possible. Panther wouldn't give up like that!"

Krystal nodded, "I agree, but, I don't sense his brain waves. The patterns are there, but the origin just vanished. Panther was vaporized!"

I was shocked, "Wow" I then chuckled, "Uhhh, great work squad; you just took down the last of Wolf's team."

Fox suddenly spoke up, "Kevin, if I were you, I would start moving so the tanks don't get you."

I suddenly realized what Fox had said and released the brake, the tanks were still down on the surface but their numbers had decreased. As I started to fly forward, I went through the cloud of black smoke. As I exited, I heard the laugh of a crazed person.

"You think you can kill me?" The voice continued to laugh crazily. The tone almost sounded as if it was Panther.

"I can't be defeated with this ship, you fool!" The voice yelled.

Fox gasped, "Oh shit"

Falco gasped as well, "Son of a…"

Suddenly, the black and red Wolfen appeared out of nowhere. It was heading right for me. When the ship neared me, it vanished.

"Oh no…" I quietly said.

I was then hit even more times from behind. I looked back and saw Panther firing relentlessly at me. I barrel rolled left and right repeatedly and tried to get away.

"All squads; cease your current target and get this bitch off of me!" I yelled.

Fox replied, "I'll get him."

Slippy cut in, "On my way"

Woods finally spoke, "Already on it"

I looked back and saw a number of allied jets firing at Panther. They were all using their guns instead of their missiles. As for Fox and Slippy, they were suing the Hyper Laser systems.

I pulled up and tried to escape the constant barrage of fire from the jets and Panther.

"Keep using the guns; my shields can take them." I said.

I looked back and saw Panther being hit repeatedly from Fox and Slippy.

"No!" Panther yelled as his ship disappeared once more.

Fox suddenly gasped, "Krystal… where the hell did he go?"

She shook her head, "I have no idea! His brain waves and patterns vanished along with him!"

I was starting to get incredibly scared. Panther was in control of this tech, and he was crazy.

Fox quickly yelled, "Everyone split up now and keep from large groups!"

I finished the loop and flew towards the large central building. I thought that if I stayed near it, he wouldn't fire at me. I then saw panther appear behind one of the allied jets. He was on the other side of the base, near the entrance. An idea then came surging through me; since the enemy fighters were cut down enough, they could focus on Panther. This means that I can find Wolf.

I waited until Fox yelled a few commands. When he finished, I started to execute my plan. I cut my comm line and flew behind the main center building.

"This is a shitty thing to do… but… I have to do it." I said to myself.

I looked around the general area and set down right behind the large center building. There was a door near the side and a large delivery window. As I set down, I activated the armor helmet and uploaded a mini-map of the building. Once the data was up, I exited the cockpit and slammed into the ground in the form of Superman when he lands. The ground actually crumbled when I hit.

"Damn, this suit is either heavy or hard as a rock." I said to myself.

I closed the cockpit and grabbed my new pistol from my holster. I looked around and saw that most of the nearby buildings were abandoned. Most of the workers must have evacuated due to the sudden attack. As I finished scanning the area, I switched over to the infrared visor. I re scanned the area and found no electrical or bio signatures; the area was basically dead. I switched back to the basic combat visor and looked over it. The mini map was shown in the top left corner; the building was a 3D frame. Ammo was in the bottom right, lifeline was on the bottom left, and shield status was in the top right. In the center was the reticle of my pistol whenever I held it up.

"Time to end this" I said to myself.

I started to walk towards the door that was near the edge. I looked up and saw the allied jets flying around aimlessly. I turned my attention back to the door and tried to open it. It was locked by a key card system, but this didn't disgrace me. I switched to the infrared visor and hacked into the lock. Once the hack was complete I entered the building. The door led into a long hallway with only one door at the very end. As I entered, the door slammed closed behind me; I was startled and quickly shot my head back. I slowly turned back around and saw that it was completely dark, almost pitch black.

"Whoa" I said to myself quietly. I switched over to the heat visor; it had built in night vision to improve the heat detection. When the visor adjusted, I started to jog down the hall and to the door. After a minute jog, I reached the door. It wasn't protected with some sort of lock, so I opened it right up.

I slowly entered the next room and saw no one. The heat visor didn't pick anyone up either; the entire room was blue cold.

"Weird" I said as I swallowed deeply. It felt like I had rocks in my throat; I was incredibly nervous and was quite scared.

I continued to move about the room. It was a bit small and had two desks on either side of the room; it almost resembled a checkpoint.

"Where are the guards?" I asked myself.

I found another door right across from me on the other side of the room. I walked to it and entered the next room, a hallway with multiple doors on the sides. I could tell that I was getting deep into the base; according to the mini map, an elevator was up ahead. I ran through the hallway and called the elevator. No code was needed.

"What the hell?" I said. I started to get an assortment of feelings: fear, nervousness, denial, the list goes on.

The elevator doors opened and I stepped inside. The small room then started to rise quickly. As it was rising, a voice came over the small speaker that was inside the elevator.

"Well, I didn't expect you to be so foolish and actually infiltrate this base." The voice said.

I looked up and found both a speaker and a camera. I aimed the pistol up at it and destroyed the camera.

"You don't scare me." I said as I started to calm down a bit.

The voice chuckled, "You can't win, Kevin. Lord O'Donnell has complete control over this planet. You may as well turn back and accept your fate."

I shook my head, "No, I will find you and I will kill you. I will kill Wolf and I will destroy his army. You two will be wiped from existence."

The voice didn't seemed phased, "Well it's a good thing I have control over the elevators." The voice chuckled, "I even taped into your comm channel."

I gasped and deactivated my helmet immediately.

"Don't bother; I'm still hacked into it." The voice then said.

I was starting to wonder why this person was toying with me. It seemed as though he wasn't scared at all, like he was born with no emotions.

The voice spoke up once more, "I'll make you a deal. If you can find me, I'll take you directly to Wolf in this elevator. If you can't and are killed in the process, then you get nothing except death."

I reactivated my helmet, "Challenge Accepted, coward."

"Let's get started" the elevator then stopped. The door opened and revealed a hallway that almost instantly turned left. I walked out and braced for any surprises.

"You're first level of the base. I am located on the top, but you will never find me nor will you survive." The voice told me.

I suddenly thought to myself, "This is too much like Saw."

I walked through the halls and found the next elevator; I entered and was greeted by the same voice in my comms line.

"Very good, you get two more levels up." The voice said in a joyous tone.

The door opened and revealed two guards; I immediately raised my gun and downed the two on the spot. I walked through the hall way and found that it made a right turn. I crept up on the corner and peered around the edge; two guards were waiting and were watching the hall closely. I activated the infrared visor and saw that they were watching the corner closely. I then jumped out and quickly shot both in the legs. Once they were on the ground, I finished them by putting bolt of energy in their heads. I tried to be as vicious as possible to get the voice to tremble with fear. On top of that, I really didn't care. I only focused on the war and on those in my way.

"You're putting yourself in a very bad position." I said.

The voice replied, "And why is that?"

I chuckled, "You're underestimating my intentions and my ability." I felt a weird sensation overcome me. My fear was completely wiped and I was more confident and excited, like I knew that this was my war to win.

The voice seemed emotionless, "That may be; however, you will not kill me."

I entered the next elevator, "What happened to finding you?"

The voice chuckled, "I know for a fact that you will find me, I just know that you will not kill me."

I found that amusing, "You're scared…"

I thought of something that could work; try and hack into the control panel. I switched to the infrared visor scanned the control panel. As I was doing this, the voice was going on about how he was the definition of fear and the conqueror of it. I didn't pay any attention; I was too busy trying to get the computer to hack.

"Error… panel blocked by level seven security. Access may infect." A message read.

I bypassed it and went further into the scan. Once I was in, I looked back up at the speaker. I laughed as I looked at it.

I ceased my laughing, "You were right; I am going to find you."

"What do you mean?" The voice now seemed troubled.

I pressed the top button that read server room. "It looks like your hacking isn't up to par with my computer." At this point, I knew who it was and where he was exactly.

"What?" The voice said.

I aimed my pistol at the speaker, "See you in a bit." I then blasted the speaker.

"See you in a bit, Robert." I then said in the midst of silence.

As the elevator door opened, I walked out and headed for a small room located on the south end of a large room that looked like a courtyard. In the center was a small fountain with small trees around it. On the sides of the walls were doors that led into offices. The mini-map said that the main control room was the first on the left.

I took a deep breath, "Let's do this." I had no fear now, I was confident that Robert would be easily defeated; more confident than before.

I burst through the door and found the man controlling it all.

"Nice to finally see you, Robert." I said as I raised my pistol.

Robert was a grey fox with the same black stripe on his face and the same scar on his eye. His build was a bit bigger than Fox's, nonetheless I had the advantage.

He smiled, "I sucked at hacking anyway."

I was absolutely disgusted with his smile. I raised the pistol higher, "Don't smile!" I fired next to him. He jumped out of the way.

"Where's Wolf?!" I said.

Robert continued to smile, "You don't need to know. You're not leaving this room alive anyway."

I pointed the pistol further, "Shut the hell up and tell me where Wolf is!"

He then chuckled, "You're scared, aren't you?"

His intimidations were working; I was starting to tremble a little. Before this, I felt nothing. My morals and my feelings were gone; now that he had me in his sights, he was giving them back to me.

"Shut the fuck up!" I yelled.

"You're so close to winning this war aren't you? Think again!" He yelled.

He then turned around and turned on a holo screen. It showed a camera feed of the outside battle. The jets and Arwings were still fighting the enemy fighters.

"You're team has no idea. You think that you're done, but our army is far bigger than you ever imagined." Robert explained, "We don't only have our Venomian fighters, we also have Earth fighters. That just doubles our size!"

I shook my head, "You think I didn't know that?" I chuckled, "Your bases are gone, and they've been destroyed!"

"Yes, but we had enough power… for this." He turned back to the screen.

In the distance, I saw an enormous amount of fighters and jets. It tripled the size of what was left of the allied forces. I was set into absolute shock.

"No…" I quietly said. I suddenly pushed all of my feelings aside and only left my anger. So much was built up inside of that the remainder of my morals was destroyed; I felt nothing and I was determined to kill anyone in my way. I was running on pure anger and vengeance.

I fired at Robert and hit him in the shoulder. He spun around and fell down to the ground. I slowly started to walk towards him and fired each step I took. I hit his shoulder, legs, and arms. His armor kept him protected, but the beams were still hurting him.

As a surprise, Robert quickly got up and charged at me. I quickly threw my gun to the side and sidestepped. Robert went right passed me. He quickly turned around and pulled out a large combat knife; it didn't even look like one, more like a jungle knife you use for cutting leaves away.

He charged at me. When he was within arm's length, I crouched and grabbed him at the torso. I then lifted him and threw him away. He landed hard but got right back up. He charged for me once more as he slashed at me. I dodged as he sliced from the right, then from the left, then as he sliced upwards. As I threw his arm back down, I lifted my arm and stopped him mid-slash; the knife flew out of his hand. When his knife was off to the side, I brought my fist up and landed an uppercut on his face. He flew back. He charged at me once more, this time with his fists blazing. I dodged each throw he tried to land on me. He paused for a split second, allowing me to land a solid punch in his abdomen. I pulled back my fist and spun around, landing a perfect spin kick to his head. He flew off to the side. As if he wasn't even hurt, he got back up and charged for me once more. He landed several punches on me and ended it with jump kick.

I hit the ground hard, "Argh!"

I turned around and looked up at Robert who was now over me. He grabbed me and threw me to the side. He then ran after me and landed a forceful kick to my stomach. He then tried to kick me again, but I caught his leg and used it to pull myself up. Once I was up, I landed a right hook on his head. He jerked to the side, but came back around and landed a good punch to my face. He then tried to right hook, but I raised my arms and deflected it. He then spun around and tried a left hook, I deflected it as well. He then jumped back a bit and ran towards me. When he neared me, I crouched and spun around with my leg extended. I tripped Robert and caused him to hit the ground hard.

"Son of a bitch…" I thought to myself, "… this guy doesn't quit."

Suddenly, Robert got back up and had two smaller knives in his hands. I deflected each jab he threw at me.

"More knives?" I thought.

This caused the suit to mistakenly take it as a command. Two blades then erected from the sides of my wrists. They were long and were on the outside of my wrists.

"What?!" Robert yelled as he continued to slash at me.

I used them as a form of protection. Robert tried to slash at me, but I raised my right blade so to deflect it. He then brought his other knife around and landed and hit on me. The armor was barely scratched. I jumped back and finally decided the one thing I was debating.

"Fuck off" I said subtlety as I activated the Wave.

"What?!" Robert yelled.

My vision distorted, then went back to normal. I ran towards Robert and quickly disarmed him. Once he was weaponless, I brought my fist around and landed a right hook. To me, he slowly jerked to the side. I then came around and brought a left hook, causing him to now go the other way. I then used the blade to slash at his legs. I extended my arms and spun around at an angle. I hit both legs, but didn't cut them off. Robert fell to the ground.

"Deactivate" I said.

The Wave then deactivated, I was instantly filled with nausea and an unsettled feeling.

"Damn it, I knew that was going to happen." I yelled. I had time now that Robert was crippled.

After a minute, I returned to normal. I de activated my helmet and walked towards Robert, who was on the ground bleeding from his legs and from his face. I stopped and saw my pistol laying a few feet from Robert. I grabbed it and walked back to him; he was trying desperately to crawl out of the room. I walked in front of him and stood at the door. He slowly looked up at me.

"Where… is… Wolf…" I pointed the barrel of the pistol at his head.

He started to breathe heavily, "Please… please… don't kill me!"

I was a bit happy but ashamed at the same time. At this point, my morals were gone; destroyed from this war. I felt no sorrow for this fox; I was only ashamed of him. How bad he did his job is all I cared about at this point in this war; I didn't care if he died, if I killed him, if he rotted.

"You know, Wolf trusted you with the first attempt to kill me. Then he did it again with the second. And then… this time." I explained. I crouched down and looked at Robert, "You failed…"

He started to breathe even more heavily, "Please… look… Wolf is waiting in the bridge. He's been waiting for you." Robert's voice was now trembling.

I chuckled, "So he didn't trust you." I then started to laugh, "He knew you would fail."

Robert reached out and tried to grab me. I got back up and was running on my anger.

I raised the pistol, "Adiós, maldito monstruo."

Robert then swatted at my feet. I feel to the ground. Robert then started to scratch at me. I activated the helmet and attempted to get back up. I succeeded, however, Robert got up as well. His legs were shaking uncontrollably as blood spewed from them. He was determined to kill me and he started to run right for me.

"Are you kidding me?" I yelled.

Robert tried to punch me straight on. I raised my hand and caught his fist with no problem. I then twisted it around and broke it. Robert screamed in pain but, still determined, brought his other fist around. I grabbed it and broke it as well. He then tried to head-butt me. I grabbed his head on the sides, spun around to his back and snapped it. Robert then fell to the ground lifeless.

I shook my head in disgrace. "You should have taken your fate when you were down." I then grabbed my pistol and returned it into my holster.

I turned away and exited the small room. I headed back for the elevator and entered the room. I located the button that read 'Bridge'.

I opened a comm line to Fox.

"WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU!?" He yelled.

I was a bit startled, but shifted it to the side.

"I'm inside." I replied.

"WHAT?!" He yelled.

I sighed, "Robert is dead now. So shut the hell up and let me do this."

Fox seemed extremely irritated, "YOU CAN'T BEAT WOLF! HE'S TOO STRONG!"

I was now getting mad, "FOX, I JUST MURDERED HIS ENTIRE SQUAD AND HIS SECRET TEAM! WOLF HAS NOTHING ON ME!"

Fox just growled, "FINE… but if you fail… I'm not going in to get you!"

"Whatever!" I ended the comm line.

I had a great plan that Fox needed to confirm, but he didn't want to hear it. I decided to do it anyway. I activated the long range comm system and hacked into the main comm line of the base. Once I was in, I contacted General Pepper.

"Kevin?" The general asked in shock.

I smiled, "Yes sir, that's me."

"My word, I thought you were all dead!" He then stated.

I chuckled slightly, "Not quite yet. I need a favor done."

Pepper sighed, "If it's a garrison of troops, then I cannot offer assistance. The Defense Fleet is not meant for offensive maneuvers; the public will become furious and chaotic."

"No no… I only need a slight favor." I said.

"What is that?" He asked.

I cleared my throat, "Send us the Great Fox. I sent the coordinates for the arrival."

"Of course, I'll have Space Dynamics send it right away."

I then remembered, "Oh, and have ROB ready to use all offensive weapons."

The general nodded and terminated the line.

The elevator stopped moving, "It's time" I said to myself.

The doors slowly slid open. On the other side of the door was a large hallway that had a single door on the end. It was the entrance to the bridge. I walked through the hall and burst through the pair of doors. Inside was a lone grey wolf standing with his hand crossed behind him; he was looking out at the battle was taking place. I looked out as well; jets and fighters and explosions were everywhere.

"Wolf" I said.

The being turned around and looked at me with a grin; it was Wolf. He was wearing his normal black and blue suit. On his side was his pistol that resembled mine and on his other side was a knife.

"Look who finally made it." Wolf said.

I quickly grabbed my pistol and raised it at Wolf. He did the same thing, only faster. We were now at a stand-off.

"You've definitely proven me wrong, human." Wolf said.

I shook my head, "That wasn't my intention."

Wolf just laughed, "I would have never thought that you, of all people, would do such things. I honestly didn't think you would make it this far. However, that changed after I heard you were still alive after Robert tried to kill you."

I chuckled, "Next time, get a better team that isn't a bunch of no body's."

Wolf smiled, "I won't need a next time. You and the rest of Star Fox die here!"

I sighed, "You think you've won, but you haven't. All of your bases are gone and all of your troops are dead. You have a few ground and air forces left over."

Wolf started to laugh, "That's where you're wrong. I have a back-up supply of these. And then I have all of this planet's armies under my control."

I was getting angry, "Don't make me mad. Robert found out the hard way what happens."

Wolf chuckled, "I'm not scared of you."

I then pulled the trigger of my blaster and sent a bolt of red energy at Wolf. He jumped to the side and dodged the blast. As he jumped, I continued to fire at him. Once he landed, he ran behind a computer terminal and started to blindly fire at me. I ran to a nearby terminal as well and took cover behind it. As I slid behind it, I activated my shield to max power; I had to cut power to my comms and from the Wave in order to do so. Once the shield was up, I ran out from the cover and towards Wolf's terminal. I dove over it and saw him looking up at me. I rolled as I hit the ground and quickly got back up. I aimed the pistol and fired at Wolf. He got up and ran for another terminal, as he did so he looked back and fired at me. He hit me, but I was only knocked back a bit from the force of the bolts landing on the armor.

"You coward!" I yelled as I ran after him.

He suddenly stopped and threw his fist around. This caught me off guard and I ran right into his swinging path. I was knocked down to the ground with such force that the wind was literally knocked out of me. I was coughing greatly as Wolf slowly stepped over to my side. He was looking at me as he raised his pistol. Once he started to laugh, I threw my arms back and planted them next my head, I then pushed up and landed on my feet. Wolf saw this and immediately fired at where I once was. I brought my right fist around for a right hook and landed a direct hit. The gun was knocked out of his hand and flew over to the side.

"Got cha!" I yelled.

I then threw my fist up and landed an uppercut. Then spun around and landed a left hook, then spun again and landed a spin kick to his head. Wolf flew to the side. Like Robert, he got right back up and charged for me. Wolf had his claws shown and was slashing at me. He slashed from the right, but I raised my arm and deflected it. He then came around with his left and landed a clean hit on my face. The mask HUD was starting to malfunction and started to glitch. I was sent skidding from the great force in his slash.

"Shit" I said to myself. I deactivated the visor but kept the rest activated. I had my hand on the spot he hit; thankfully no blood was on my hand.

Wolf then charged at me once more; he neared me, allowing me to spin around and bring my leg up, landing a clean kick to his face once more. He didn't get knocked to the side this time, he only stumbled and quickly regained from the hit. He then ran to me once more. I threw my fist from the right and was shocked to see that he deflected the hit. I came back around and tried my left fist; he deflected it as well. After he deflected the second hit, he kicked my gut and I was sent stumbling to the ground. I tried to get back up, but only met pain as I tried.

I looked up and saw Wolf looking down at me. He was laughing as I tried to get up.

"You can't beat me, kid." Wolf said as he stopped laughing, "You couldn't beat me before, and you can't beat me now."

I then grabbed Wolf's legs and pulled them towards me. He fell to the ground; I used him as support to push myself up quickly. Once I was up, I jumped back from him.

He coughed as he got back up, "I didn't think that this would need to happen." He said.

Wolf turned around and type a few things the terminal. He took less than a second to do so, once he finished, a loud computer voice was heard.

"Self-Destruct initiated. Ten Minutes until nuclear detonation." The computer said.

Wolf laughed, "Now we both die!"

I was shocked at him, "You're crazy!" I yelled.

"No… I'm not crazy. This is all part of the plan! The detonation to kill you off and leave this planet in ashes! All the cities are gone and all the countries are to be eradicated. This whole getting you in the explosion was not part of it though." Wolf explained.

"YOU FUCKER!" I yelled as I charged for Wolf. He seamlessly threw his fist right into my face. Since the shield is only good for energy, it broke. I also felt a sharp pain in my nose; it broke. I fell to the ground quickly and painfully.

Wolf laughed and grabbed me by my neck. He raised me up high and started to squeeze hard.

"This is when you die!" He yelled. He then raised his free hand and scratched at my face. Blood was now gushing from my face. He released me when he hit, throwing me to the side. I landed hard and immediately grasped my face.

"ARGH!" I yelled in pain. Blood was dripping from my face as I felt the scratch go from my chin, around my left eye, and ending on my forehead.

Wolf then grabbed onto me and slashed at my armor. Several plates were swiped right off. When my under-armor suit was exposed, Wolf slashed at my side; I tried to jump out of the way, but was still hit. The force of the hit threw me to the ground. Blood was now gushing from my side.

I quickly tried to get back up. Suddenly, the room started to shake greatly; beams and explosions riddled the room from the front. The beams supporting the roof fell as the computers below exploded; the front of the room was destroyed. Fires then quickly broke out and spread.

"DIE!" Wolf yelled as he charged at me with his pistol.

I got my stance and released my face. I then sidestepped and dodged his swing. He then brought it around and tried to hit me from the right, I leaned back and watched as the gun flew over my body. I raised my arms and planted them on the ground. As I flipped, I kicked Wolf in the head as I threw my legs up. I got back on my feet and charged at Wolf, who was holding his face from the pain. I activated the two blades and slashed at his face; I landed two hits: one breaking his muzzle, and the other scratching from his chin to his forehead.

"ARGH!" Wolf yelled as he grasped his face.

"How do you like!?" I yelled. The entire time, blood dripped from my face and from my side; I ignored both the pain and feeling.

I quickly grabbed Wolf's gun that was on the ground and pointed it at him. I fired three times and hit his shoulders and left leg. He fell down and was still holding his muzzle. I started to walk towards him but was shaken when the base rattled yet again. Wolf used this as a chance to get back up and run for me. I grabbed his fist as he tried to punch me in the face; however, he quickly countered it and broke my hand doing so. He then landed the forceful punch to my face and sent me flying all the way to the other end of the room. I stopped when I slammed into a fallen beam. I slowly got back up, when I did; I saw that my wrist was completely limp and that flames were overcoming our fighting area. I then looked at Wolf who had his pistol raised at me. Just as I saw the flash of his barrel, I sensed someone near. I then heard a voice yell my name.

"KEVIN!" I heard the voice yell.

I turned to the door and saw Krystal. She had thrown her staff in my direction. I saw the weapon flying and caught it mid-air with my right hand. As soon as I had it in, I slammed it to the floor standing up and opened the shield. The red bolt of energy bounced off of the shield and into the roof.

"GET OUT OF HERE!" I yelled at Krystal.

She nodded and ran back through the doors.

Wolf then started to run at me. I raised the staff and pointed it at Wolf. He swung his claws at me; I stepped to the side and slide behind him. I then swung the staff above my head and brought it down. Wolf was forcefully brought to the ground, but quickly got up. He turned around and slashed at me; thankfully the staff was in the way of his claws and blocked the slash. I jumped back and swung the staff at Wolf's head. I hit him and came back around the opposite side and hit him once more. I then brought the staff down and hit the ground with it, and forcefully brought it back up with the flame function on, landing a perfect hit on Wolf with the staff and flames.

"FUCK!" he yelled as he hit the ground. Once we fell to the ground, I grasped my hand from the pain. I looked up at Wolf and saw him on the ground. I then ignored the pain in my hand and started to walk over to Wolf.

The room shook once more; but I just continued to walk towards Wolf as if nothing happened. He was on the ground holding his face and his leg. As he was doing this, he crawled back up against a fallen beam and sat up next to it.

"You can't kill me!" He yelled as I walked towards him.

I deactivated the flame on the staff and set it back to normal. I raised it and had it point at Wolf. I spun it around and placed the end on Wolf's forehead. Pain was surging through my body; however I ignored it and pretended it wasn't even there.

I inhaled greatly, "I've been waiting for this moment: the moment to finally kill you, and teach you… not to EVER fuck with me!"

Wolf looked at me with fear, "You won't do it. YOU COWRD!"

I looked away, "No… I will." I then spun around and forcefully jabbed the staff into Wolf's chest, "I just won't look…"

Blood was splattered onto my face and armor. Once the blood splattered onto me, I pulled the staff to the side and brought it out from Wolf. I turned away completely and raised the staff; I examined the blood that now covered it entirely. I closed my eyes and tightened my grip on it. I then reopened my eyes and spun the staff around quickly; the blood flew off as it spun. I then brought it down and hit the ground to make the excess blood shake off.

I walked over to Wolf's dead body and placed the staff on the ground; I then grabbed his communicator. I used it to contact Fox.

"It's done" I softly said.

Fox replied, "What?"

I nodded my head to myself, "It's DONE!" I yelled.

Fox sighed, "He's dead?"

"…yes" I replied, "This war is over."

Fox then replied back, "Thanks for calling the Great Fox. We really needed it and the reinforcements."

"Reinforcements? He said he wouldn't…" I was cut off.

Fox chuckled, "Well, he did. And we needed it; we lost 90% of our forces."

I shook my head. More lives taken for protecting their home.

"What about Panther?" I asked.

Fox stayed quiet, "Shot him down."

"Good" I then cut the transmission and headed for the door.

I was mere feet from the exit when a large beam fell and blocked the path entirely. Oil started to leak from the ceiling due to the ruptured pipes. The oil caused the fire to spread onto the beam.

"Shit!" I yelled as I shielded my face from the heat.

I quickly looked around for another exit. I found an air vent, but saw that it was far too small for me to go through, and it was also too high. I then slowly looked at the front glass.

"Oh god…" I said to myself.

I raised the communicator, "Fox" I said, "have the remaining Earth forces to head to base now!"

"Why?" he asked.

I shook my head in frustration, "Just do it! This base is about to nuclear!"

"Warning; three minutes to self-destruct." The computer said.

I then over-heard Fox, "All units, return to base immediately! Lylat Squad, go with them and provide cover."

"Yes sir" the pilot replied.

I cut in, "Fox… I also need you to fly by the front glass." I continued.

"What? Why?" He asked.

"Fox, why else would I want you to fly by!?" I yelled.

Fox must have then figured out my plan, "…I'll tell you when to jump."

I nodded, "Just don't miss."

I looked out and saw an Arwing turn back and head for the glass. As it neared, I made the staff fold back into its compact size and place it on my back. It had a magnetic strip on it for large weapons. Once it was in place, I started to sprint for the glass.

"Please catch me…" I thought to myself.

Fox suddenly yelled, "JUMP!"

I then put my right shoulder in front of me and crashed right through the glass. Once I was through, I extended my arms and legs and saw Fox racing towards me. I braced for the catch. Fox was getting closer and closer. I outreached my arms in front of me and was jerked with such great force that I almost was knocked out, however I kept consciousness and found myself hanging on the wing of the Arwing. I had my arms around the left wing while I was flying behind it. I pulled myself up onto the wing and grabbed the edge with my good right hand. I looked over at Fox, who had a relieved look on his face.

"Have ROB leave now. Get him to leave atmosphere at max speed!" I said over the comm.

"What? What about you?" Fox replied.

"I'll hold my breath until you get in the hangar." I said.

Fox nodded. I looked down and saw the blood dripping on the wing, then looked ahead and saw the Great Fox accelerate towards the sky. Fox also accelerated as well. We were extremely high up when we neared Great Fox. The air was so thin that I could hardly breathe. We were going so fast, but hardly keeping up with Great Fox. I took a deep breath and hoped we reached the air lock shield.

"Almost!" Fox said as we were literally inches from the lock.

Out of air, I slowly climbed to the front of the Arwing. The G-Diffusers helped dull the intense force, but I still felt a great deal of it. I reached the tip of the Arwing and reached my hand out to the shield; it made it in. I then pushed off of the Arwing with all my strength and landed inside of the hangar. Fox was still struggling to keep up. When I was inside, Fox pulled off and followed closely behind.

I gasped for air as I landed onto the floor. I was breathing so heavily that I almost couldn't catch my breath. Once I finally did, I heard a door open up from above. I looked up at the ceiling and saw Krystal and Falco standing at the edge of the top floor of the hangar.

Krystal gasped as she ran over to the elevator. Falco stood there and sighed.

"You are one crazy son of a bitch!" He yelled joyfully.

Krystal ran out of the elevator and towards me. She then knelled to my side and examined the two huge wounds. Disregarding them, she grabbed me and held me tightly.

"I told you not to do that!" She said as she cried.

I nodded, "I know…" I swallowed deeply, "… I had to."

She finally let go after a minute.

"I'm… sorry." I said.

Her eyes filled with tears as she hugged me once more. She released me after another minute passed.

Krystal then slowly helped me up. I contacted Fox as I walked over to the elevator with Krystal's help, "Fox, can you see an explosion on the surface?"

Fox replied, "Yeah, a big one. I already contacted the Lylat Squad; the jets are safe and are on their way back to base."

I nodded, "Good" I then started to feel very woozy, but I pushed the feeling aside.

Krystal and I then headed up to where Falco was waiting. The elevator stopped and opened up. Falco looked at me with a smile.

"You did it" he said softly.

I nodded, "The war's over."

I stumbled but was caught by Falco.

"You aright?" he asked.

I nodded, "Yeah… just get me up to the bridge."

Falco shook his head, "No way, you need to get to the Med Bay!"

I looked up at him, "The Med Bay is on the same level as the bridge. Get me up there… and… contact MAM." I was running low on my breath once more.

The three of us then started to walk quickly back through the door and into the long hallway. Falco and Krystal were supporting me along the way. About halfway through, my legs gave in and I fell to the ground. I felt pain shoot through my side, face, and arm as I became unsettled and even woozier.

"Oh shit" Falco said as he grabbed onto me and picked me up, "Come on" he said as he started to run down the hall with me in his arms.

I looked up at the ceiling and saw the lights pass over me. Everything was getting blurry and bright and I soon started to hear things all muffled. The three of us quickly entered the elevator. Krystal moved over to me and started to cry. She yelled multiple things, but I couldn't hear her; I only heard my heart pumping and me breathing.

After what felt like an eternity, we reached the bridge. Falco ran out and placed me in one of the chairs.

"GET MAM IN HERE NOW!" I heard him yell. He yelled again, "I said get MAM HERE NOW!"

He then looked at me, "When MAM gets here he'll take you to the med bay." He explained.

Just then, MAM walked in with a stretcher. He walked over to me. Peppy and Slippy were off to the side watching me. I watched as MAM looked over me with Krystal. She then helped me up and onto the stretcher. MAM looked over the wounds and scanned them once more.

"Surgery and stiches will be required." I heard him say.

Fox then ran through the doors and quickly over to the side of the stretcher.

"Kevin!" he yelled, "Are you okay?"

I nodded slowly. The lights were getting even more blurry and brighter. I started to feel weak and very drowsy.

"Oh no, his heart rate is dropping!" MAM said.

"What?" Fox and Krystal yelled.

MAM then grabbed a small mask and placed it over my face. I was breathing slowly when I was eventually knocked out from the gas. I witnessed what seemed like a few seconds of darkness, when a bright light came from a distance.

"Wha-?" I said.

I felt no pain and I was in my normal clothing. I looked down and saw that I was standing on whiteness with a bright light. I looked back up and saw that it was getting closer and closer. I shielded my eyes from it. As I did so, I heard Krystal yelling. She seemed as though she was devastated.

"Don't go near the light! Stay away!" I heard her echo yell.

I did as she said and turned away from the light. As I did I was met with pure darkness. Then, I felt nothing. I couldn't see anything, feel anything, or even sense anything.

_Several Hours Later…_

I awoke with a startle; sweat was on my face as I panted and gasped for air. I was inside the Medical Bay on one of the beds. I looked down at my chest and saw the wires running in and out; I was also in my black under-armor suit. I touched my face and felt multiple stiches from my forehead and around my left eye. The scratches that Wolf induced on me must have gotten worse. I then felt my side and saw a large piece of the under armor missing; a white bandaged covered the spot. I calmed down slightly and slowly looked around the room; Fox was sleeping on one of the chairs; Krystal was next him on his arm. Knowing that I was fine, I slowly slouched back down in the bed. Fox slowly opened his eyes when he heard the noise.

"Kevin?" He asked quietly.

He then tapped Krystal, who quickly got up. She looked around the room and saw me awake. She and Fox then both got up and walked over to my bed.

"How are you feeling?" Fox asked.

"Sore as hell." I replied. "My face feels like needles are stabbing it and my side feels like a big chunk of skin is missing."

Krystal touched my forehead, "MAM said that you lost much of your blood."

I nodded, "I kinda figured."

Fox chuckled, "He also said that you'll be fine. However, there are a few things different with you."

I was a bit confused, "Different?"

Fox nodded, "Look at your hand."

I looked down and raised my right hand."

"No, your other one" He said.

I then raised my left and noticed something odd about it, "Why does it look odd?"

Krystal cut in, "It's robotic"

I looked at the two with my eyes wide. Robotic? How?

"Excuse me?" I said loudly.

Fox nodded, "Yes, your hand was beyond repair. MAM had to perform surgery on it and give you a fully functional robotic implement."

I raised my hand once more. I closed it flawlessly and reopened it. I then wiggled all my fingers simultaneously. The robotic limb felt like it was my normal hand; it just looked a bit funny."

Fox then patted my leg, "One more thing is different."

I looked down at where he had patted, "Please don't tell me…"

Fox nodded, "Yeah… I guess the fall weakened your right leg and then broke when you jumped into the hangar."

I sighed, "Son of a bitch…" I covered my face with my hands, "...is it robotic as well?"

Krystal nodded, "There is an upside to these: not only are they stronger, but they are also more accurate."

Fox spoke up, "MAM will actually help you with P.T while we head back for Corneria. You'll need to get used to the leg and hand."

I sighed and then nodded at Fox.

He smiled, "I have to head up to the bridge to negotiate with Pepper."

I leaned back, "No problem"

I grabbed the communicator that was on the table next me and contacted Woods; I needed to get word to the President and all survivors that Wolf and his forces are dead. After a minute of silence, the comm line went to static. I tried to contact him again but was met with the same thing.

"Why isn't he answering?" I said softly.

Krystal put her head on my shoulder and placed her hand over the communicator.

After an eternity of silence, Krystal answered, "…he didn't make it" she said softly.

I sat up, "What?"

Krystal lowered her head, "Panther… shot Woods down… before Fox could save him." She paused.

I was filled with shock. Tears filled my eyes at the sudden news of the one who was by me throughout the war was dead.

"That can't be!" I yelled. "No!" I again yelled as I leaned over and placed my head in my hands. I started to cry.

Krystal put her hand on my shoulder, "He died for a cause; a good one."

I was crying greatly. Woods was a great man and a great leader. He didn't have to die, he shouldn't have died!

"Kevin, I understand what you're feeling. Woods was a good man and friend." She said, "But if you're going to overcome this war, you need to let go."

I looked up at Krystal. Those words told me something: problems aren't meant to stay with you; you choose how they affect you and how you deal with it. What Krystal said made me realize this.

I sniffled, "You know what… you're right." I wiped the tears from my face, "I need to cope with this."

Krystal nodded, "I'll help you every step of the way." She then leaned in to me and hugged me, "Come and visit me in my room for mediation. That'll get you back on your feet."

I chuckled, "Thanks, Krystal."

She then released me, "I'll let you rest now."

I nodded and lay back down in the bed. Krystal then walked out of the room. Once she did, I closed my eyes.

As I fell asleep, I thanked my guardian angel, my dad, for watching over me this entire time. I had strong feelings that he watched me; keeping me from death, knowing that I was destined for good things. I thanked him for allowing me to meet the rest of the team, taking me in and allowing me to join. Having the great adventure with them, Star Fox… my friends.

**End**

_Finally finished with this book. I am extremely proud of how it turned out in the end and i am extremely happy that i stuck with the idea and made the trilogy. Stay tuned today on this book today, for i WILL post the extra chapter that gives the details on the extra book. Seeing as how i am very exhausted from writing, the book will be rather short. Do not worry, it will not be choppy and it will not be horrible. I promise detail and some action. Anyway, be sure to review and tell me how you enjoyed the trilogy. _

_Keep an eye out today for that chapter!_


	13. Chapter X

**Chapter X **

Hello my readers, jon3s115 here. I promised you all an addition to the book. I have ultimately decided to go ahead and do it! But first, I thought that you would all be interested to know a bit about me, don't worry I won't bore you.

Who am I?

I am a 16 year old writer that, yes, attends high school. Bet you didn't know that? I enjoy books and I have a large imagination. I currently have a large plan set up to go into the video game industry and become a 3D Modeler and Animator. As a side job, I plan on voice acting.

How did I think up this book?

Before I even thought of writing, I read multiple fan fics of Star Fox. I am a huge fan in the series and have really enjoyed the games. After a few fics, I decided that I could write my own book. I started out with thinking of how the book would even begin. During the process, I remembered a FanFic that I read a while back. I enjoyed it SO much and read all the chapters, but was greatly disappointed to see that it didn't have an ending. The writer quit and left me with a very suspenseful cliff hanger that will not leave. If you're wondering what the name of the fic was... I am sorry. I have since forgotten the name and I cannot locate it either. If you would like to research it: the plot starts with Pepper receiving a distress call form earth. Star Fox is called to investigate. ON earth, two human soldiers were fighting what seem to be ape troops; Andross invading earth. The soldiers, seeing that they are the final of their battalion, decide to drop their things and run. They meet up with an Osprey plane. Obama greets them as they escape in the plane, they are then briefed to meet a space ship and go where the ship needs them; Pepper replied to the call and sent help. The Osprey is then shot down, leaving Obama and the pilots dead. The two soldiers meet up with the ship and arrive on the Great Fox. Fox and the crew then interrogate them. Peppy then performs a bioscan the surface and determines that all life on earth was wiped out. However, when the scan finishes, they find two lone signatures. Fox and Krystal are sent to one, Falco and Slippy are sent to the other. Fox and Krystal discover a house in the middle of dust and rubble. They enter and find what seems to be a music room. In it, there was a recording studio located in the basement. Fox and Krystal are shocked when they find a boy sitting in the room with sound cancelling headphones. They get him out and learn that his family was killed when a group of 'animals in gear' entered and shot the family on sight. The boy was lucky to get away with only a wound. He says that the troops left and that he ran into the studio. He then heard a slight noise that started to get higher; he put the headphones and rode the noise out. This extremely high pitched noise came from nowhere, the boy states that he had left the studio and found his family with blood in their ears. He then states that he had to bury his family himself after they were killed. I cannot remember the name the author gave this boy, but he was given an age of 11. Slippy and Falco find the same thing, only a little girl of 10 hiding in a closet. The four bring their humans back to Great Fox and get all the Intel they needed form them. Fox, seeing something in the boy, decides to train him with skills needed for the Arwing, he also trains the two soldiers. Peppy, however, takes the girl up for monitoring. If you would like to research and find this amazing book, this plot set out should help.

After I read this, I got the idea of having a human in my book. I remembered how awesome the fic was and decided to use a human. You know that I named him Kevin Michelson; well, the name is based off of me. My name IS Kevin, but it is not Michelson. I did use my name for the character, but I did not use my personality. I built it all from scratch. The plot of the first book was meant to be similar to like a common meeting. I used Fox crashing into Kevin's yard as a means to get it started. After that, I went with my gut and perfected what I thought up. The bullying, the personality, the meeting, the hiding, etc.

Book 2 and 3 are different; I used a style similar to Assault to write these. In book 2, I did missions that were air based and modern. I decided to give them the mission of hunting down Wolf. Originally, I was going to have them fight an unknown alien race, but choose Wolf instead. Seeing as how Wolf was picked, I thought, "Why not have these two hate each other?" Once I wrote the chapter where Kevin nearly kills Wolf, I decided to do another book. This came to be Book 3, when wolf seeks vengeance against Kevin by attacking his home.

When I said there was to be a book 3, I had NO IDEA what to write about. I literally was out of things to write. Then I remembered that fan fic. Using my imagination, I set up a plot that followed what the fic somewhat did. I put everyone in hiding while the fic had everyone dead. I had Wolf attack while the fic had Andross using a weapon. I only based book 3 off of wide destruction of earth; this then opened my mind to ideas.

SO enough about me… let me tell you about my project!

Details:

The plot of this is simple; the team is on vacation and relaxing after the long and horrible war between Earth and Wolf. A while back, you all asked for several things to happen. I pushed them aside because they simply wouldn't fit in with the atmosphere of the trilogy. But, in Crossed Paths: A Time of Peace (it's NEW name), I will be able to do all of this. The book will be fairly short and feature some action. I plan on many things to happen, but not as much as what happened in the trilogy.

I hope you all enjoy A Time of Peace for it includes what you all asked for.

I would now like to thank ALL OF YOU for sticking with me in this trilogy. I appreciate your support and thank you all for keeping me on my feet. If it wasn't for any of you, I wouldn't have continued the book and I would have stopped at book 1. THANK YOU SO MUCH! I do hope that you stick with me as I continue my career in writing fan fics.

For those that haven't visited the website, my next project after A Time of Peace will be based on Ratchet and Clank. I am very excited to visit this world and start writing all that I have planned for the fic. If you would like to visit the site, the URL is www. sciencefictionstories. weebly. com (note that there are no spaces in the name).

Until next time… my amazing and awesome readers!


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